Is it “possible to get ourselves to sincerely doubt things, despite abundant evidence to the contrary”? This is the question Dr. Angel Pinillos invites us to answer with respect to public conversations on climate change. His article titled “Knowledge, Ignorance and Climate Change” published in the New York Times opinion section on 26th
November, 2018 looks at climate change through lenses of the philosophical concept of skepticism.
Pinillos cites President Trump’s interview response to the effect that he was not aware that global warming is man-made. In the author’s opinion, Trump’s skeptic assertion “I don’t know that it’s man-made” should be construed as application of the principle of philosophy of acknowledging one’s ignorance in order to spur action. “What Trump is doing is telling us that governmental decisions should not assume that global warming is caused by humans” (Pinillos).
While it is true that surface temperatures of the earth’s surface have risen by a whopping 0.60C since 1860 when they first started recording temperature, Pinillos argues that this is merely evidence of global warming, not evidence of human influence on the same. He supports this by providing instances to demonstrate that temperatures on earth have never been constant for a long period of time and that they have been fluctuating between extremities long before humans came along.
In justifying his skeptic stance, the author faults present day scientists (including NASA) for failing to apply principles of scientific inquiry to science. In Pinillos’ opinion, science has changed from what it used to be with contemporary scientists arriving at ‘scientific’ conclusions based on assertions made by those who are actively publishing on the ‘extreme likelihood’ that their active participation confirms hypotheses. Scientists seem to have replaced the microscopes with their computers, and where science used to accept nothing short of solid facts, they now settle for an online ‘unanimous agreement!’ (Pinillos).
The writer’s argument is well presented using well selected illustrations. The writer demonstrates his grasp of philosophical concepts and is able to apply the knowledge to our understanding of climate change with a lot of conviction. Thus, by the end of the article, as a reader I do agree with the author regarding the application of rigorous principles and procedures of science before any conclusions reached can be used to inform decision making by government. The implications of basing decisions on percentage of scientists who are actively publishing on an issue will no doubt be disastrous. I also agree with Dr. Pinillos opinion that Trump’s statement reflects the application of the philosophical principles of skepticism and ignorance. President Trump’s cited assertion should spur more inquiry into causes of climate change. Pinillos’ call to revisit how scientific inquiry is conducted ought to be heeded.
Works Cited
Pinillos, Angel. "Knowledge, Ignorance and Climate Change." 26 November 2018. The New York Times. 27 November 2018. .
