Dr Katie Steele

This course is available on the BSc in Philosophy and Economics, BSc in Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method, BSc in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and BSc in Politics and Philosophy. This course is available as an outside option to students on other programmes where regulations permit and to General Course students.

Policy decisions should be responsive to our best evidence. But what does this mean? How should we negotiate conflicting sources of evidence? And whose responsibility is it to link policy and evidence?

These questions reflect the two main topics of the course.

The first topic concerns the quality, strength and relevance of the available evidence with respect to a given policy question. This is a central issue in the ‘evidence-based’ policy-and-medicine movement. Are randomised controlled trials really the gold standard? Can evidence be statistically significant without being scientifically or practically significant, and vice versa? What is the role of quantitative versus qualitative evidence in establishing causal claims? How do general causal claims bear on individual cases, and vice versa? Can some evidence be disregarded due to cultural and political biases?

The second topic concerns the roles and responsibilities of scientists, policy-makers and citizens alike in enhancing evidence-based policy making. What does it mean to say that there is a scientific consensus? Does expert knowledge of scientists constitute a threat to democratic processes? What is the ‘Precautionary Principle’ and does it provide a way forward when there is little evidence available? To what extent should individual rights be compromised to enable scientific research? What issues arise when scientists interpret and measure ethically-loaded concepts like poverty, well-being or bio-diversity? Is science a ‘public good’ and what does this mean for how it should be managed?

Examples referred to in the course are drawn from various areas of science in policy-making, including climate, conservation, international development, poverty, education, and health.

10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the MT. 10 hours of lectures and 10 hours of classes in the LT.

Students will be expected to produce 3 essays and 1 presentation in the MT and LT.

A detailed reading list will be provided at the beginning of the course. Useful background readings are: Cartwright, N. and Hardie, J. (2012) Evidence-Based Policy: A Practical Guide to Doing it Better; Mackie, J.L. (1980) The Cement of the Universe; Howson, C. and Urbach, P. (1993) Scientific Reasoning: A Bayesian Approach; Kitcher, P. (2011) Science in a Democratic Society; Douglas, H. (2009) Science in Policy-Making: Objectivity, Values, and Risk; Stiglitz, J.E. Sen, A. and Fitoussi, J. (2010) Mismeasuring Our Lives: Why GDP Doesn't Add Up.

Exam (67%, duration: 2 hours) in the main exam period.
Essay (33%, 2000 words) in the ST.