About

“Adventures in Ethics and Science” is the blog where I muse on responsible conduct of scientific research, communication between scientists and non-scientists about the issues that matter to both camps, and teaching science and ethics. I know at times it seems like most of the discussion is about irresponsible conduct, miscommunication, and teaching that doesn’t get the job done. I criticize because I know we can do better.

“Doing Good Science” is a blog that discusses elements of the scientist’s work that aren’t usually covered in science classes or textbooks — the ethical dimensions of scientific practice.

In it, I explore how ethical practices are essential to scientific knowledge-building, how that knowledge-building enterprise is tied to scientists’ ability to play well with others, and how members of the tribe of science might best share a world with the segments of humanity who aren’t employed in the knowledge-building business.

Where “Adventures in Ethics and Science” sometimes gets a bit “inside baseball” with the milieu of scientific knowledge-building, “Doing Good Science” strives to make these issues more accessible to a general audience. All of us share a world with the products of science, and with scientists (they walk among us!), so we all have a stake in grappling with these issues.

My opinions about the issues I discuss on my blogs are informed by my training as a philosopher of science, but even more by my training as a scientist. (I earned a Ph.D. in physical chemistry, but I’ve also worked in labs with biomedical emphases.) You know, the crucible of graduate school, yadda yadda. It goes without saying that the opinions I express here are not necessarily those of San Jose State University, of any other organization with which I’m affiliated, or of a time-slice of myself much later than the time-slice that expressed those opinions in the first place.

The “Adventures in Ethics and Science” banner, and the character depicted in it, were created by P.D. Magnus. He owns the copyright on the graphic; I am using it with his kind permission.

The “Doing Good Science” banner, and the characters depicted in it, were created by P.D. Magnus, but I commissioned them and paid him for his artistic labor. I would totally do it again.