Science without Validation in a World without Meaning - American Affairs Journal

Abstraction: Epistemological critique of modern science lacking grounding in validation and meaning

Key points:

• Article by Edward R. Dougherty and Brooke Dunn argues that modern science increasingly proceeds without adequate validation frameworks, disconnected from broader questions of meaning
• Draws on Feynman, Schrödinger, and Arendt to ground critique of post-positivist scientific practice; references Reichenbach on the rise of scientific philosophy
• Engages with Dougherty's prior work "Epistemology of the Cell" and "The Evolution of Scientific Knowledge from Certainty to Uncertainty" on how big data demands big theory
• Cites climate modeling as a domain where multi-model ensembles substitute for single validated predictions; cites Tebaldi and Knutti 2007 on probabilistic climate projections
• Argues that without Norbert Wiener-style theoretical grounding (cybernetics, control theory), large-scale data-driven science risks becoming epistemologically rootless

Connections: Philosophy Of Science · Epistemology

Source: https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2020/05/science-without-validation-in-a-world-without-meaning/