Tag: Climate Change Disinformation

Abstract

Philosophers commonly make claims about the aims of science, and these claims have played a significant role in debates about topics like scientific realism, modeling, and idealization. Nevertheless, there has been little discussion about the basis for those aims or the source of justification for claims about those aims. We use recent debates about the appropriate roles for values in science to bring this lack of discussion to the fore. These debates raise the question of whether there are global aims that apply to all areas of science. In response to this question, we examine a variety of different ways of conceptualizing the aims of science and conclude that no matter how one conceptualizes them, there do not appear to be convincing arguments for the view that science has global aims that constrain the influence of local aims on scientific practice. Thus, we place the burden of proof on those who claim that science has one or more global aims of this sort to show how those aims can be justified. Furthermore, we develop an account of scientific normativity that relies solely on local aims. When applied to debates about values in science, this view vindicates the cogency of what we call an “equal aims” approach to managing roles for values in science. Abandoning global aims might seem to raise the potential for epistemic corruption in science, but we argue that this concern is not compelling. We conclude that a local conception of scientific aims provides the foundation for a highly naturalized and engaged approach to the philosophy of science.

Abstract

The ongoing international negotiations on a global plastics treaty will have pivotal implications for future efforts to transform the plastic economy. This is essential since the current use of plastic in the economy impacts the environment beyond the planetary carrying capacity. To ensure that the forthcoming Treaty can provide the foundation for this transition, the best available science must be made available in the negotiations, but with no formal scientific mechanism to inform the negotiations process, this is not ensured. The Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastic Treaty serves as an example of how the global scientific community has self-organized and come together to address this task, working with five different categories of science-policy communication. The Scientists’ Coalition’s work is made transparent here with the hope that it can inspire organization of scientific input into other future policy areas.

Abstract

All over the world, waste and its disposal are becoming a more prominent issue, as landfills swell up and growing evidence points to its contribution to climate change and environmental degradation. In the developing world, waste pickers sort through solid waste and sell it to vendors, who will recycle the product into something consumable. The work they do is vital to climate change mitigation, as well as urban cleanliness. In a way, waste pickers, especially in India, are vehicles of environmental justice, but they are often discriminated against and subjected to inhumane working conditions. In this environment, the pandemic hit, making waste pickers’ already precarious life even worse. This paper attempts to fill the gap in the academic literature by compiling a systemized literature review of the impacts of COVID-19 on waste-pickers’ lives using an environmental justice perspective. The review also uses a Feminist Political Ecology perspective to illuminate the double jeopardy that female waste pickers face in the era of COVID-19, which academia often ignores. Ultimately, this paper shows that COVID-19 exacerbated the preexisting injustices that the waste picker community face and created an immense burden on women. This paper will show that it is important to notice the differentiation between female and male waste picker challenges, especially at the crux of the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper has important policy implications as well as research considerations for both environmental justice and feminist political ecology scholars.

Abstract

This article examines the phenomenon of epistemic injustice within the global social media landscape, using Southeast Asia as a case study. It explores how X (formerly known as Twitter) holds the potential to cultivate a digital public sphere that embodies justice and equitable dialogue, compared with major platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Beginning with an introduction to epistemic injustice, the article contextualizes its significance in Southeast Asia, highlighting the region’s digital challenges and opportunities. It then proposes characteristics necessary for ideal social media platforms, drawing on Habermas’s public sphere and Rawls’s justice principles to advocate for spaces that promote inclusive and rational discourse. The core analysis centers on X, suggesting that its features could make it a superior choice for fostering a just digital environment globally. The article recommends specific improvements for X to evolve into an ideal social platform, addressing challenges such as cyberbullying, echo chambers, and misinformation. The conclusion emphasizes the importance of prioritizing epistemic justice in social media platforms to achieve a more inclusive and fairer digital public sphere, with Southeast Asia serving as a representative example of a less-than-ideal environment where such platforms could thrive.

Abstract

Some academics and commentators argue that societies should engage in centralized planning to avoid climate change impacts, similar to war-time economic planning from the past. This paper critiques militarized climate planning in its comprehensive and noncomprehensive forms. We argue that a “war footing” would severely exacerbate epistemic limitations, perverse incentives, and political power problems, reducing the capacities to discover effective means of climate mitigation in localized contexts. We alternatively argue that polycentric governance systems promote diverse and nuanced mitigation approaches. Polycentric institutional configurations tend to improve learning processes, provide stronger incentives for socially productive behavior, facilitate coproduction, and foster legitimacy for climate action. Societies do not need to engage in militarized planning—either comprehensively or noncomprehensively—to address climate change problems effectively.

Abstract

Food requirements have always been a top priority, and with the exponential growth of the human population, there is an increasing need for large quantities of food. Traditional cultivation methods are not able to meet the current demand for food products. One significant challenge is the shortened shelf-life of naturally occurring food items, which directly contributes to food scarcity. Contaminating substances such as weeds and pests play a crucial role in this issue. In response, researchers have introduced genetically engineered (GE) food as a potential solution. These food products are typically created by adding or replacing genes in the DNA of naturally occurring foods. GE foods offer various advantages, including increased quality and quantity of food production, adaptability to various climatic conditions, modification of vitamin and mineral levels, and prolonged shelf life. They address the major concerns of global food scarcity and food security. However, the techniques used in the production of GE foods may not be universally acceptable due to the genetic alteration of animal genes into plants or vice versa. Additionally, their unique nature necessitates further long-term studies. This study delves into the procedures and growth stages of DNA sequencing, covering the benefits, risks, industrial relevance, current knowledge, and future challenges of GE foods. GE foods have the potential to extend the shelf life of food items, alleviate food shortages, and fulfill the current nutritional food demand.

Abstract

With the recent renewed interest in AI, the field has made substantial advancements, particularly in generative systems. Increased computational power and the availability of very large datasets has enabled systems such as ChatGPT to effectively replicate aspects of human social interactions, such as verbal communication, thus bringing about profound changes in society. In this paper, we explain that the arrival of generative AI systems marks a shift from ‘interacting through’ to ‘interacting with’ technologies and calls for a reconceptualization of socio-technical systems as we currently understand them. We dub this new generation of socio-technical systems synthetic to signal the increased interactions between human and artificial agents, and, in the footsteps of philosophers of information, we cash out agency in terms of ‘poiêsis’. We close the paper with a discussion of the potential policy implications of synthetic socio-technical system.

Abstract

In September 2020, the Czech digital audience was confronted with a request to critically revise local history and the current official cultural and political attitudes from a decolonial perspective. A group of university students and lecturers published the Manifesto for Decolonization, a digitally circulated text that sparked a debate about what was/is the position of the former Czech lands and contemporary Czechia within the history of Western European colonization. This article examines three phases of the event: the publishing of the text, its digital audience reception, and the reflection of its production. As for publishing and reception, the imaginations inscribed into the text by its authors are examined in comparison with the imaginations present in the popular responses of digital audiences expressed on social media. To explore the context of production, we conducted and analyzed interviews with three local experts involved in the production process. Through our findings, we demonstrate the following: (1) the role of a generational gap that divides the views of local experts in interpreting the aspirations of the Manifesto and (2) the role of a polarized nature of online deliberation that drives the dismissive popular response and leads to the formation of an anti-discourse. We conclude that two symptoms—victimization of the Self and weaponization of Leftist labels—are especially salient in the response to the decolonization agenda in Czechia as a Central Eastern European, post-socialist country.

Abstract

In September 2020, the Czech digital audience was confronted with a request to critically revise local history and the current official cultural and political attitudes from a decolonial perspective. A group of university students and lecturers published the Manifesto for Decolonization, a digitally circulated text that sparked a debate about what was/is the position of the former Czech lands and contemporary Czechia within the history of Western European colonization. This article examines three phases of the event: the publishing of the text, its digital audience reception, and the reflection of its production. As for publishing and reception, the imaginations inscribed into the text by its authors are examined in comparison with the imaginations present in the popular responses of digital audiences expressed on social media. To explore the context of production, we conducted and analyzed interviews with three local experts involved in the production process. Through our findings, we demonstrate the following: (1) the role of a generational gap that divides the views of local experts in interpreting the aspirations of the Manifesto and (2) the role of a polarized nature of online deliberation that drives the dismissive popular response and leads to the formation of an anti-discourse. We conclude that two symptoms—victimization of the Self and weaponization of Leftist labels—are especially salient in the response to the decolonization agenda in Czechia as a Central Eastern European, post-socialist country.