Why Inductive Risk Requires Values in Science

Abstract

Although science is our most reliable source for empirical knowledge, it is also endemically uncertain, largely because of its inductive nature. In this chapter, the author argues that social and ethical values are needed to help scientists make this judgment, because purely internal standards do not help with assessing evidential sufficiency. Some philosophers have suggested that the only judgments needed are those that are dictated by internal standards for doing science. Such a view holds that in the face of a need for judgment about whether a theory is sufficiently supported, that scientists need only consider certain "epistemic" values. The problem with relying on these epistemic values is that they don't help with deciding whether the evidence is sufficient. The author also argues that purely epistemic reasons and values cannot tell us when evidence is sufficient for making a scientific claim. Social and ethical values are a well-justified part of scientific reasoning.