Workshop on Philosophy of Science &
Evidence Relevant for Regulation
& Policy

Blacksburg, Virginia
 June 28-9, 2008

Organizers:
D. Mayo (Philosophy)
A. Spanos (Economics)

Sponsors:
The Foundation on Experimental Reasoning, Reliability, and the Objectivity and Rationality of Science (E.R.R.O.R)*
and
The Department of Philosophy, Virginia Tech

Philosophical attention is often given to value-laden issues surrounding science-based policy, but these issues are not properly addressed divorced from issues of the responsible interpretation, assessment and scrutiny of the associated evidence relevant for regulation and policy. Our goal is to  advance philosophy of science so that it is more directly involved with problems of scientific legitimacy in practice.  The aim of this workshop is to identify some new avenues interrelating philosophy of science and methodological issues in dealing with uncertainties and knowledge gaps in "evidence-based" science and policy. This workshop will involve a small group of scholars, each with different but complimentary areas of expertise, (e.g., philosophy of science, law, economics, statistical inference, causal & empirical modeling, research ethics) who combine an appreciation of the policy issues (and potential biases) with work in the foundations of scientific methodology.

Workshop Participants: Nancy Cartwright (London School of Economics and University of California, San Diego), Carl Cranor  (University of California, Riverside), Kevin Elliott (University of South Carolina), Clark Glymour  (Carnegie Mellon), Kevin Hoover (Duke), Deborah Mayo (Virginia Tech), Sandra Mitchell (University of Pittsburgh), Wendy Parker (Ohio University), Richard Scheines (Carnegie Mellon), Kristen Shrader-Frechette ( Notre Dame),  Aris Spanos (Virgiinia Tech), Wendy Wagner (University of Texas School of Law), John Worrall ( London School of Economics)

Advisory Experts:  D. R. Cox (Oxford),  David Michaels (George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services)

Graduate Student Assistants/Participants: Emrah Aktunc (Virginia Tech), Jean Anne Miller (Virginia Tech).

*E.R.R.O.R.  Executive Committee: Alan Chalmers, George Chatfield, D. R. Cox, Clark Glymour, Deborah Mayo, Aris Spanos