Teacher: Barbara Osimani

Content:

What is scientific rationality? Are different sorts of rationality at play in scientific practice? If so, how do they intertwine and impact on scientific production? In particular, what role does strategic rationality play in scientific settings, especially
those characterized by strong conflicts of interest? How do we deal with scientific dissent (in these cases)? What are the forces that shape the collection, selection, production and disclosure/communication of scientific evidence in diverse
scientific ecosystems (past and present)? This module will investigate these themes by drawing on a double-track approach: the “abductive” approach of metascience studies, which aim to develop tools for bias and fraud detection, and the theoretical approach of recent literature on (Bayesian) persuasion games.

Main topics:

• Scientific Rationality
• Metascience
• (Bayesian) persuasion games