Should Scientists Participate in Political Debates?

[Sunsettommy]

Roger Pielke Jr.'s Blog

07 December 2009

EXCERPT:

The answer is unequivocally "yes."

There appears to be some misunderstanding of my views on this topic, amplified by discussions over at Real Climate by practicing scientists. Jim Bouldin, a sometimes contributor at Real Climate and research scientist at UC-Davis, (mis)characterizes my views as follows:

Just do science, don’t speak up about it. Remember, political scientists can expound on climate science (without even getting the facts right!), but climate scientists should never “pathologize” science by “politicizing” (i.e. talking about) it.

Gavin Schmidt (mis)characterizes my views as follows, with the discussion of "taxonomy" referring to my analysis in The Honest Borker, which Gavin obviously has not read:

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Interesting way he specifies what is acceptable in scientists being involved in politics.

[JohnWho]

"Should Scientists Participate in Political Debates?"

Sure, and Politicians should write in "peer reviewed" journals.

[Sunsettommy]

Here is how he defines the difference:

Quote:In The Honest Broker I describe three effective roles that scientists can play in policy debates (the Pure Scientist does not play any direct role):

* The Science Arbiter who responds to questions put forward by decision makers.
* The Issue Advocate who seeks to reduce the cope of political choice.
* The Honest Broker who seeks to expand, or at least clarify, the scope of choice.

as compared to this below:

Quote:The Stealth Issue Advocate claims to be a Pure Scientist or a Science Arbiter, but really is working to reduce the scope of choice using science. A problem is that science is particularly ill-suited for political battles because decisions that take place in the context of uncertainty or a conflict in values always involve much more than science.

Realclimate is a good example of the Stealth Issue Advocate.

Dr. Roy Spencer is a good example of Science Arbiter.

Many skeptics are Honest brokers.

[Sunsettommy]

(12-07-2009 02:31 PM)JohnWho Wrote:  "Should Scientists Participate in Political Debates?"

Sure, and Politicians should write in "peer reviewed" journals.

I think he is talking about the roles that scientists play,not what politicians can do.

Quote:Just do science, don’t speak up about it. Remember, political scientists can expound on climate science (without even getting the facts right!), but climate scientists should never “pathologize” science by “politicizing” (i.e. talking about) it.