 Heather Douglas
Associate Professor
(Waterloo Chair in Science and Society)
PhD, University of Pittsburgh
BA, University of Delaware
Office: HH 320
Extension: 32290
Email: hdouglas@uwaterloo.ca
Areas of Interest
Philosophy of Science, Values in Science, Science and Policy, Social Epistemology, History of Philosophy of Science
Academic Biography
My work centers on the use of science in policy-making and the policies that guide the practices of science. Examinations of these areas provide grist both for critiques of traditional views in philosophy of science (e.g., on the proper role for values in science) and for normative guidance relevant to our actual practices. In my recent book, I argued for a shift in the general understanding of the proper ideal for values in science, which then has practical implications for our use of science in policy-making and the role of the public in that process. I have also examined (and plan on continuing work on) the moral responsibilities of scientists with respect to their work, how to understand scientific integrity, and how the institutional structures of science help or hinder scientists in doing their work with integrity and responsibility. In addition, there are interesting epistemic questions concerning how to combine or weigh evidence from multiple disciplinary perspectives that I have been working on (particularly in a recent sojourn at Pittsburgh’s Center for Philosophy of Science, funded by the National Science Foundation). Finally, I have an ongoing interest in the history of philosophy of science, particularly how the discipline of philosophy of science emerged in the mid-20th century from the logical empiricist movements of the early 20th century, and how that emergence has shaped the field.
Selected Publications
(Additional work can be found at: http://uwaterloo.academia.edu/HeatherDouglas)
Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.
Reviewed in:
Isis http://www.jstor.org/pss/10.1086/660262
NDPR http://ndpr.nd.edu/review.cfm?id=18306
Risk Analysis http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1539-6924.2010.01457.x/abstract
Sci. & Eng. Ethics http://www.springerlink.com/content/0k0w851182088000/
Studies in HPS http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039368111000884
Theoria http://www.ehu.es/ojs/index.php/THEORIA/issue/view/80
“Facts, Values, and Objectivity” (2011), The SAGE Handbook of the Philosophy of Social Science, Ian Jarvie and Jesús Zamora-Bonilla, eds., Sage Publications, pp. 513-529.
“Engagement for Progress: Applied Philosophy of Science in Context” (2010), Synthese, vol. 177, pp. 317-335.
“Reintroducing Prediction to Explanation” (2009), Philosophy of Science, vol. 76, pp. 444-463.
“The Role of Values in Expert Reasoning” (2008), Public Affairs Quarterly vol. 22, no. 1, pp. 1-18.
“Science, Hormesis, and Regulation” (2008), Human and Experimental Toxicology, vol. 27, 603-607.
“Rejecting the Ideal of Value-Free Science” (2007), in Value-Free Science? Ideals and Illusions, Harold Kincaid, John Dupré, and Alison Wylie (eds.), Oxford University Press, pp. 120-139.
“Inserting the Public into Science” (2005), in Democratization of Expertise? Exploring Novel Forms of Scientific Advice in Political Decision-Making, Sociology of the Sciences vol. 24, Sabine Maasen and Peter Weingart (eds.), Springer, pp. 153-169.
“The Irreducible Complexity of Objectivity” (2004), Synthese, vol. 138, no. 3, pp. 453-473.
“The Moral Responsibilities of Scientists: Tensions between Autonomy and Responsibility” (2003), American Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 40, no. 1, pp. 59-68.
“Inductive Risk and Values in Science” (2000), Philosophy of Science, vol. 67, n. 4, pp. 559-579.
Popular/Public Work
“The Dark Side of Science,” The Scientist, November 16, 2011, http://the-scientist.com/2011/11/16/opinion-the-dark-side-of-science/.
“A History of the PSA before 1970,” Philosophy of Science Association Website, http://philsci.org/about/history.html.
Elected Professional Offices
2009-2013: Member-at-Large, Section L (History and Philosophy of Science), American Association for the Advancement of Science
2007-2010: Governing Board for the Philosophy of Science Association
2007-2009: International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science Steering Committee Member
Selected Grants, Fellowships & Awards
2010-2011: National Science Foundation Grant #1026999, “Scholars Award: Explanatory Weight of Evidence Analysis” ($110,798)
2010-2011: Center for Philosophy of Science Visiting Fellow, University of Pittsburgh
2007: Annual Award for Outstanding Contributions to Interdisciplinary Scholarship, University of Tennessee
2002: National Science Foundation Grant #0115258, “SDEST: Scientists and Policy-Making: Objectivity, Moral Responsibility, and Risk” ($44,752)
Recent Graduate Courses
Science and Values (2011—University of Pittsburgh)
Philosophy of Science 1900-1960 (2010—University of Tennessee)
Science and Public Policy (2009—University of Tennessee)
Moral Responsibilities of Scientists (2008—University of Tennessee)
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