Library Speaker SeriesEach October, the Department of Philosophy at Western initiates a public speakers' series at the London Public Library (Central Branch, 251 Dundas St, Stevenson & Hunt room, 1st Floor). 7:00 p.m. Fall 2014 SeriesClimate Change: The Philosophical Issues October 8, 2014What Do You Bring to a Street Fight?Wayne Myrvold (Western) An editorial in the journal Nature warned climate [...]
Please join us for a three-part lecture series on the science of climate change, presented by visiting Rotman Institute scholar Professor Roman Frigg.September 15, 3pm-5pm: Lecture 1: Basic Concepts in Climate Science---Location: Stevenson Hall, Room 1140[Lecture 1 slides here]September 17, 3pm-5pm: Lecture 2: Climate Modelling---Location: Stevenson Hall, Room 2150H[Lecture 2 slides here ]September 19, 3pm-5pm: [...]
[Update: Logistics information can be found here, more info coming soon] [Update: Abstract submissions due August 22, 2014] We are delighted to announce that the Rotman Institute of Philosophy will host its second annual conference, Knowledge and Models in Climate Science, on Oct. 24-26, 2014. The conference will bring together researchers to discuss the [...]
On Monday, April 14, 2014, Professor Charlotte Werndl delivered the final lecture in the Rotman Institute of Philosophy Speaker Series. On Sunday, a day before the lecture, she met with members of the Rotman Institute for a walk around the forks of the Themes River in London, Ontario. In the audio file below, she [...]
Before the lecture, Professor Oreskes sat for an interview with Martin Vezér. In this video, she discusses topics in the philosophy of climate science, including issues in the epistemology and of science, history of climate science, the politics of climate change, and other subjects related to her (and Eric Conway’s) book, Merchants of Doubt. After [...]
By Wayne Myrvold I wish that I had suggested “Don’t be fooled” for the title of Gordon McBean’s blog post earlier this week, instead of “Don’t be misled,” so that I could call this one “Don’t be fooled again.” Several of the blog posts in the past week have pointed to difficulties in communicating climate [...]
by Dan Hicks Why is the climate change debate so interminable? From the perspective of many scientists, we’ve had compelling data since the 1970s and more than enough reason to reduce greenhouse gas emissions since the 1980s. Today the IPCC will release the first part of their fifth Assessment Report. But no one really expects [...]
By Wayne Myrvold Two weeks ago, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change issued a press release stating that “the IPCC is not holding any crisis meeting.” In other news, the IPCC has not enlisted a herd of flying unicorns to carry thermometers into the stratosphere. The IPCC statement came as a result of claims in [...]
By Gordon McBean 24 September 2013 On Friday, 27 September 2013, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release the Summary for Policy Makers (SPM) for its Working Group I – The Physical Climate Basis. The full Working Group I report will be placed on the IPCC website (www.ipcc.ch) on 30 September. Due to the [...]
“In a modern world where we can travel the globe in hours, connect with one another from wherever we are, achieve remarkable advances in healthcare and physically explore our universe, it is easy to take science for granted,” said Carl Hoefer, the new Director of the Rotman Institute of Philosophy. “But it is essential that [...]
