Dorothy Dankel on Epistemic Humility in Science

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Dorothy Dankel joins Eric to discuss her recent paper with Min Hyung Kim on how society should navigate the epistemic authority of science and how we need to be ‘ready to be wrong’ and be more comfortable with the fact of uncertainty. This conversation delves into the complexities of deep sea mining, the intersection of journalism and scientific research, and the philosophical underpinnings of science. The discussion highlights the importance of collaboration in scientific endeavors, the challenges posed by uncertainty in research, and the implications of post-normal science in understanding environmental issues. The conversation also emphasizes the need for more deep sea research and the potential risks and opportunities associated with deep sea mining.

Dorothy is Senior Research Scientist at SINTEF Ocean and adjunct assoc. professor at the Dept. of Biological Sciences, University of Bergen in Norway. Her expertise is in Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) and transdisciplinarity in Marine Science. She is Chair of the Nordic Marine Think Tank and has been a fellow at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) and the International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).

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Time stamps

00:00 Intro

00:27 Dorothy's Journey from Journalism to Marine Research

06:05 The Intersection of Journalism and Research

10:15 Exploring the New Paper: Are We Ready to Be Wrong?

16:04 The Mackerel Case: A Study in Post-Normal Science

27:28 Stakeholder Engagement in Science

32:54 Navigating Uncertainty and Complexity

49:06 Intellectual Humility in Scientific Discourse

56:10 Deep Sea Mining: Risks and Opportunities

Theme music Tamarack by Jesse Matas

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