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Why is applying knowledge not a legitimate goal of science? When you learn that action X results in more suffering than the alternative action Y, should you not
by adrianN 4y ago
Why is applying knowledge not a legitimate goal of science? When you learn that action X results in more suffering than the alternative action Y, should you not put that knowledge to use for political policy?
- SpicyLemonZest 4y agoYou should, and I don’t think the author would disagree. But it’s important to maintain a distinction between science your potentially science-informed political advocacy. If you don’t, how can anyone who disagrees with you on the merits of action Y trust what you have to say?
- adrianN 4y agoThey could for example look at the papers that I published that explain my reasoning and show my data.
- SpicyLemonZest 4y agoCan they trust that you've explained your reasoning honestly and showed all your data? In the political arena proper, it's very common to see politicians fail to mention inconvenient data or present unsound arguments which don't actually describe how they came to their conclusions.
- adrianN 4y agoThere is no complete trust in life, no matter what. I can't trust myself that the data I collected myself and the conclusions I drew myself are correct. That's why we have scientific discourse, where other scientists read your papers, think that it's hot garbage and do their own investigation.