Seminar on History and Philosophy of Science

Abstract: Disinformation campaigns funded by industry can distort the evidential landscape in ways that serve industry purposes. For example, fossil fuel funding of academia can be seen as part of the industry's attempt to delay climate action. Fossil Free Research and many other groups are calling for a ban on accepting fossil fuel support for climate research. As with the case of tobacco funding, these calls have been controversial. Many believe that such bans would violate academic freedom. In my talk I'll navigate us through these tricky issues, ultimately arguing that bans can be permissible if directed at agents of disinformation.