Conversations at the Center: Science and Values

Conversations at the Center: Science and Values

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Mark Risjord to discuss Science and Values. Dr. Risjord used his time at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Philosophy of Science to work on a book project, tentatively titled Impartial Inquiry: A Defense of Scientific Value-Freedom. Using 20th century sociology of racial residential segregation as a running case study, the book argues for impartiality as a norm of inquiry.  It argues that while political values may properly motivate scientific questions, but they ought never influence the acceptability of the answers.   The book aims to show that arguments against the value-free ideal generally highlight useful kinds of criticism of scientific practice, but such criticism is consistent with—and sometimes strengthened by—the norm of impartiality. Previous publications that are relevant to this project include “Thick Concepts and Impartiality” [https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cambridge.org%2Fcore%2Fservices%2Faop-cambridge-core%2Fcontent%2Fview%2FA583CAF8DAF60B971D76B142221369DC%2FS0031824825101141a.pdf%2Fthick_concepts_and_impartiality.pdf&data=05%7C02%7CAHT59%40pitt.edu%7C70cf4af5a6bd481b6a9a08dea7042ab5%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C639131833670677105%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=OjJAUGEIcaVpzAENOdgn0UJTRwWrpr4PwSnqsmXt%2F9I%3D&reserved=0] (with Kareem Khalifa and Jared Millson) and “Scientific Change as Political Action” [https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.academia.edu%2F145745464%2FScientific_Change_as_Political_Action&data=05%7C02%7CAHT59%40pitt.edu%7C70cf4af5a6bd481b6a9a08dea7042ab5%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C639131833670705290%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=M0yyO38w6VeF4swjFj%2FdU0yUCmxZf9hTbx60J6Fylg0%3D&reserved=0] .

Conversations at the Center - Social Epistemology and Pluralistic Ignorance

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Associate Fellow Kevin Zollman. Kevin Zollman is the Herbert A. Simon Professor of Philosophy and the director of CMU’s Institute for Complex Social Dynamics. His research and teaching focuses on modeling social behavior in humans and other animals. Kevin grew up in Kansas before attending the University of California, Irvine for graduate school and moving to Pittsburgh in 2009. In addition to many academic articles, Kevin is the author of The Game Theorist’s Guide To Parenting: How the Science of Strategic Thinking Can Help You Deal with the Toughest Negotiators You Know--Your Kids. To read the work discussed in the podcast, visit www.kevinzollman.com

Conversations at the Center – Edouard Machery and Chris ChoGlueck

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Chris ChoGlueck. Chris ChoGlueck is a philosophy professor and advocate of reproductive equity. He has a PhD from Indiana University Bloomington. Chris is now an Associate Professor of Ethics at New Mexico Tech, where he teaches philosophy and gender studies to STEM students and runs ethics workshops for scientists. Chris has served as an expert panelist for the Society of Family Planning and the American Society of Emergency Contraception to pressure the FDA to correct the label of Plan B (the “morning after” pill). His research and advocacy have been featured in Scientific American, CNN, NPR, and PBS NewsHour. In the Spring Term of 2026, he has been selected for University of Pittsburgh’s Visiting Fellowship in the Center for Philosophy of Science.Christopher ChoGlueck, "Still no pill for men? Double standards & demarcating values in biomedical research," Studies in History and Philosophy of Science, Volume 91, 2022, Pages 66-76, ISSN 0039-3681, [open access] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0039368121001874 [https://nam12.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sciencedirect.com%2Fscience%2Farticle%2Fpii%2FS0039368121001874&data=05%7C02%7CAHT59%40pitt.edu%7C6232fdd69bb04958418508de9726c9d3%7C9ef9f489e0a04eeb87cc3a526112fd0d%7C1%7C0%7C639114390018584529%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=ooPX5Cy7ks0s1pHC%2BEQdiy5K1vUqqFUBK09O4zxtxsw%3D&reserved=0]

Conversations at the Center – Edouard Machery and Laurenz Casser

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow Laurenz Casser to discuss his work on the study of pain. Laurenz is a Leverhulme Early Career Fellow at the University of Sheffield. Starting January 2027, he will be a lecturer (assistant professor) in philosophy at University College London. His research lies at the intersection of the philosophy of science, the philosophy of medicine, and the philosophy of mind. He is particularly interested in foundational questions in the scientific study of pain. Read the articles discussed in the episode: Casser, L. C. (2021). The function of pain. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 99(2), 364-378. (https://philarchive.org/rec/CASTFO-12 [https://philarchive.org/rec/CASTFO-12]) Casser, L. (2025). Pain without inference. Philosophy and Phenomenological Research, 110(3), 789-810. (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phpr.13134 [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/phpr.13134])

Conversations at the Center – Edouard Machery and David Thorstad

In this episode of Conversations at the Center, Center Director Edouard Machery sits down with Visiting Fellow David Thorstad. David is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Vanderbilt University and Research Affiliate at the Machine Intelligence and Normative Theory Lab, ANU. Thorstad received a PhD in philosophy from Harvard University and completed his postdoctoral training at Oxford University. Thorstad is the author of Inquiry under bounds (https://academic.oup.com/book/57345 [https://academic.oup.com/book/57345]) and co-editor of Essays on longtermism (https://academic.oup.com/book/60794 [https://academic.oup.com/book/60794]).