Decision Making Under Uncertainty and Pragmatism

该奖项由科学与社会计划的科学、工程和技术伦理与价值组成部分授予Carl Mitcham 2006-2007学年的专业发展奖学金。来自科学与社会研究哲学和伦理领域的米查姆将与环境科学合作研究所（科罗拉多大学博尔德分校）科技政策研究中心的小罗杰·皮尔克（Roger Pielke Jr.）等人合作，提高和扩展他在不确定条件下决策分析方面的技能。这将主要涉及他在统计学、概率论和决策科学方面的训练。此外，他的研究将致力于在不确定性下的决策科学与约翰·杜威的经典美国实用主义之间架起桥梁。因此，该专业发展奖学金将寻求在杜威学派务实关注推动科学社会效益的背景下，推进Mitcham的决策科学知识。在2006年秋季学期，Mitcham将全身心投入到决策科学的技术方面的培训中，处理不确定性下的决策，并研究杜威思想的那些方面，这些方面可能与这些领域的科学进步的欣赏或结合有关。在2007年春季学期，米查姆将与皮尔克合作教授一个关于不确定性下的实用主义和决策的研究生研讨会。这项拟议的培训和研究将促进科学和技术的哲学和伦理方面的知识和理解，并可能促进决策科学方面的知识和理解。尽管科学、技术和工程伦理在不确定性下的决策具有核心重要性，但这些领域的伦理研究对相关决策科学的关注并不多。在决策科学中，与更广泛的实用主义利益联盟也有潜在的好处，以提高科学、技术和工程的社会效益。这项拟议的培训和研究也将直接导致在不确定性和实用主义下进行决策的研究生水平研讨会的教学。作为一个跨学科的项目，它源于对科学、技术和工程伦理的兴趣和先前的贡献，它也有望更普遍地增强科学和工程研究和教育的科学和社会维度。最后，因为它将把科学知识带入哲学、科学、技术和社会研究的研究和教育中，它可以预期有益于科学和工程以外的非技术学生和学者的一般科学教育。

This award from the Ethics and Values in Science, Engineering and Technology component of the Science and Society Program is for a Professional Development Fellowship for Carl Mitcham for academic year 2006-2007. Coming from the areas of philosophy and ethics in Science and Society studies, Mitcham will work with Roger Pielke Jr. and others at the Center for Science and Technology Policy Research of the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (University of Colorado, Boulder) to improve and expand his skills in the analysis of decision making under uncertainty. This will involve primarily his undergoing training in statistics, probability, and the decision sciences. In addition, his research will work to bridge the science of decision making under uncertainty and the classic American pragmatism of John Dewey. This Professional Development Fellowship will thus seek to advance Mitcham's knowledge of the decision sciences in the context of Deweyan pragmatic concerns for advancing the social benefit of science. During the Fall semester 2006 Mitcham will devote full time to his training in the technical aspects of the decision sciences dealing with decision making under uncertainty and on research into those aspects of Dewey's thought that may be relevant to the appreciation or incorporation of scientific advances in these areas. During Spring semester 2007 Mitcham will team teach with Pielke a graduate seminar on pragmatism and decision making under uncertainty. This proposed training and research will advance knowledge and understanding in the philosophy and ethics of science and technology and potentially in the decision sciences as well. Despite the central importance of decision making under uncertainty in the ethics of science, technology, and engineering, ethical research in these areas has paid only modest attention to the relevant decision sciences. In the decision sciences there is also potential benefit from an alliance with the more broadly conceived interests in pragmatism for enhancing the social benefit of science, technology, and engineering. This proposed training and research will also lead directly to the teaching of a graduate level seminar on decision making under uncertainty and pragmatism. As an interdisciplinary project that grows out of interests and previous contributions to the ethics of science, technology, and engineering, it also promises to enhance the Science and Society dimensions of science and engineering research and education more generally. Finally, because it will bring scientific knowledge into research and education in philosophy and science, technology, and society studies, it can be expected to benefit the general scientific education of nontechnical students and scholars outside the sciences and engineering.