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Heather Douglas

I received my Ph.D. from the History and Philosophy of Science Department at the University of Pittsburgh in 1998.  After teaching for six years at the University of Puget Sound, I joined the department at UT in 2004.

My research interests center on the use of science in policy-making.  This includes not only how to conceptualize that process, but also what the involvement of science in policy-making means for our understanding of science, for the role of values in science, for the moral responsibilities of scientists, and for the nature of scientific objectivity.  I am also interested how to best weigh complex sets of evidence from multiple disciplines in the policy process.  Finally, I am interested in the development of philosophy of science in the twentieth century, particularly in the crucible of the cold war.

Selected Publications

  • “Reintroducing Prediction to Explanation,” Philosophy of Science, forthcoming.

  • Science, Policy, and the Value-Free Ideal, University of Pittsburgh Press, 2009.

  • “Philosophy of Science, Political Engagement, and the Cold War:  An Introduction,” Science and Education, vol. 18 no. 2 (Feb. 2009), pp. 157-160; guest editor for “Politics and Philosophy of Science” special issue.

  • “The Role of Values in Expert Reasoning,” Public Affairs Quarterly, vol. 22, no. 1 (Jan. 2008), pp. 1-18.

  • “Rejecting the Ideal of Value-Free Science,” in Value-Free Science? Ideals and Illusions (2007), Harold Kincaid, John Dupré, and Alison Wylie, eds., Oxford University Press, pp. 120-139.

  • “Bullshit at the Interface of Science and Policy:  Global Warming, Toxic Substances, and Other Pesky Problems,” in Philosophy and Bullshit (2006), Gary L. Hardcastle and George A. Reisch, eds., Open Court Publications, pp. 213-226.

  • “Inserting the Public into Science,” in Democratization of Expertise?  Exploring Novel Forms of Scientific Advice in Political Decision-Making, Sociology of the Sciences, vol. 24 (2005), Sabine Maasen and Peter Weingart (eds.), Springer. pp. 153-169.

  • “Boundaries between Science and Policy:  Descriptive Difficulty and Normative Desirability,” Environmental Philosophy, vol. 2, no. 1 (2005): 14-29.

  • “Border Skirmishes Between Science and Policy:  Autonomy, Responsibility, and Values,” in Science, Values and Objectivity (2004), Peter Machamer and Gereon Wolters, eds., University of Pittsburgh Press, pp. 220-244.

  • “Prediction, Explanation, and Dioxin Biochemistry:  Science in Public Policy,” Foundations of Chemistry, vol. 6, no. 1 (2004): 49-63.

  • “The Irreducible Complexity of Objectivity,” Synthese, vol. 138 no. 3 (2004): 453-473.

  • “The Moral Responsibilities of Scientists: Tensions between Autonomy and Responsibility,” American Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 40 no. 1 (2003): 59-68.

  • “Inductive Risk and Values in Science,” Philosophy of Science, vol. 67 n. 4 (2000): 559-579.

Recent Presentations

  • “The Necessity of Social Values in Science,” May 29, 2009, Science and Values: The Politicization of Science, European Science Foundation Research Conference, Bielefeld University, Germany.

  • “Going Both Ways:  Applied Philosophy of Science in Context,” March 20, 2008, Making Philosophy of Science More Socially Relevant mini-conference, American Philosophical Association Pacific Division Meeting, Pasadena, CA.

  • “Advocacy and Scientific Expertise,” October 26, 2007, Fall 2007 Sawyier Philosophy Lecture in Science, Technology, and Society, Illinois Institute of Technology.

  • “Integrity and Advocacy in Expertise,” March 29, 2007,  Hale Chair in Applied Ethics Lecture Series, Rochester Institute of Technology.

Teaching Interests

Philosophy of science; environmental ethics; science and public policy; science and moral responsibility.

Recent Professional Service

  • Member-at-Large, Section on History and Philosophy of Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2009 ­– present)
  • Governing Board for the Philosophy of Science Association (2007 – present)
  • International Society for the History of Philosophy of Science Steering Committee (2007 – present)
  • Reviewer for Philosophy of Science, Hypatia, BioScience, and the National Science Foundation.
Heather Douglas

Contact Information

Heather Douglas
Associate Professor
815 McClung Tower
Knoxville, TN 37996-0480

Phone: 865-974-7215
Fax: 865-974-3509

Email: hdouglas@utk.edu