Workshop: Philosophy of Science and Public Engagement; May 2020, Cincinnati, OH

University Of Cincinnati Main Campus, Cincinnati OH

Investigators

Abstract

This award supports a three-day workshop to be held in May 2020. The workshop will bring together philosophers of science and other academics and practitioners who participate in research on public outreach and public engagement as it relates to science. Workshop participants will focus on four key areas: Science communication (including public-facing events, writing, and social media), science education (including engaging with students and with educators about science), informal science education and outreach (such as through museums and libraries), and scientific work with communities (such as citizen science and community-based research). Workshop participants will identify and promote more meaningful broader impacts for philosophical research that includes public outreach and science education. The workshop will also serve to meet institutional goals for the University of Cincinnati's newly founded Center for Public Engagement with Science to strengthen connections with its community partners. The primary concrete deliverables from this workshop are four white papers, one on each of the indicated areas of public engagement; they will be submitted for presentation at pertinent conferences and professional society meetings. The workshop will serve to enhance the capacity for socially engaged philosophy of science. That capacity includes conducting philosophical research with broader social relevance, developing the practical implications of philosophical research (such as advancing public policy), and involving philosophy of science in public engagement with broader science endeavors including science education, science communication, and citizen science. The workshop will work towards the overarching goal by fortifying existing bridges with other disciplines relevant to public engagement with science including science communication, science education, and science and technology studies. The first two days of the workshop will consist in morning and early-afternoon lectures from experts on each of the four key areas indicated above, followed by interactive breakout sessions in the late afternoon on each topic. The third day will focus on developing philosophy of science's potential to contribute to these areas of public engagement with science. Some of the core questions to be addressed are the following. What do philosophers of science have to contribute to this area of public engagement? What are some ways in which that contribution be realized? What resources or discussions in other disciplines already exist? What research do philosophers need to do public engagement? What are potential challenges? The end goal of this workshop is the development of new research networks between philosophers of science and other communities that focus on public engagement with science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.