“Evacuate the city. The latest numbers from the predictive model show that the hurricane might hit in two days and cause major devastation.” This was not the balanced approach of an emergency manager, a city council member, or a meteorologist. Rather, it was the insight of a ninth grade student conducting a mock disaster exercise in our class on the philosophy of science. To prepare students to thrive in a world driven by science and policy, we need to incorporate philosophy in the classroom.
The COVID-19 pandemic has made clear how strongly our lives can be influenced by rapid developments in scientific knowledge and changes in public health policy. Everyday our lives are affected by the latest predictive models of disease transmission, evolving data on vaccine efficacy, and guidelines for social distancing and mask-wearing. All the while, the pandemic has underlined many Americans’ limited scientific literacy and distrust of science. ...
