I’ve been reflecting on my PhD work and some potential future directions for my research which build on my growing interest in knowledge-related aspects of sustainability transitions. This post sketches a few preliminary thoughts regarding what a research agenda focussed on these aspects of transitions could examine and why. An important line of inquiry in my … [Read more…]
This post draws heavily on two books: Theory and Society: An Introduction to the Philosophy of Science by Peter Godfrey-Smith and A Realist Approach to Qualitative Research by Joseph Maxwell. If the ideas discussed are of interest, then these books are worth checking out as well as Cheryl Misak’s books on pragmatism. Godfrey-Smith (2003) defines … [Read more…]
I recently re-read Fligstein et al’s paper ‘Seeing Like the Fed’ which asks: “Why was the FOMC [Federal Open Market Committee that sets monetary policy in the USA] so sanguine in its economic projections?” That is, why were the FOMC “so slow to recognize the impending collapse of the financial system [during the GFC] and … [Read more…]
I recently discovered Kevin deLaplante’s great podcast The Critical Thinker (link). An episode that recently got my interest discusses Mercier and Sperber’s argumentative theory reason, a theory of human reason that I used in my doctoral research. Similarly to my approach of mobilising insights from both social and psychological/cognitive sciences to understand and enhance knowledge … [Read more…]
This post shifts focus slightly to consider social science and some of the key ideas I’ve considered over recent years and begun to embrace regarding the goals of social science, social research practices, and some philosophical aspects of such inquiry. Amongst other considerations, my current view is that social inquiry should have explanatory aims; can … [Read more…]
Yesterday I read an interesting book chapter on the evidence-based practice movement. The author (Dennis M. Gorman from Texas A&M University) argues that is a major driver of pseudoscience in various public health practice areas (the chapter focusses on drug prevention research). Gorman presents evidence of “questionable data analysis practices to produce positive results” – and related gaming … [Read more…]
In his book The Invention of Science David Wootton argues that “the idea of discovery is … a precondition for the invention of science” (p.54) and, linked with this, that the idea of discovery itself had to be invented. He points to the works of Francis Bacon which “built a philosophy of science around the … [Read more…]
Last week I received a letter from University of Technology Sydney (UTS) stating that the Graduate Research School at UTS has recommended (to the Academic Board) that I be admitted to the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (the degree will be conferred in March). This letter more formally marks the completion of what has been … [Read more…]
I discovered the philosopher Cheryl Misak (link) whilst working on my PhD. Whilst her book Cambridge Pragmatism is mainly intended as a rewriting of the history of pragmatist philosophy, I read it as part of my efforts to gain a stronger understanding of the pragmatist philosophical tradition. Two key opening statements in the Preface that … [Read more…]
I’ve been pondering my career options and one trend of interest is the increasing focus on assessing the impact of research activities and investments (link, link, link, link). These assessments are also seen as being inherently challenging (e.g. see link), often highly flawed, and there are important debates about who should do such evaluations and … [Read more…]