Lehrende/r: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Cornelis Menke
Veranstaltungsart: Seminar
Anzeige im Stundenplan: HS/OS Climate Sc.
Semesterwochenstunden: 2
Unterrichtssprache: Englisch
Min. | Max. Teilnehmerzahl: 1 | 30
Voraussetzungen / Organisatorisches: Die Sitzungen am 27. November 2019 und am 5. Februar 2020 entfallen; es werden Ersatztermine angeboten.
Inhalt: Climate science is a paradigm case of a complex research field studying a complex system. In recent years, philosophers of science have explored the richness the field exhibits epistemically as well as methodologically. Amongst the issues debated are the best explication of the concepts of "climate" and "climate change", the role of value judgments in climate modelling, and the epistemology of climate simulation given that most predictions of climate science are based on computer simulations. Further methodological questions concern the theory-ladenness of observations, and the limits of (independent) tests of the climate models and of climate projections. What are the sources of the uncertainties climate science displays? How are the probabilities reported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC best understood? Beside these methodological issues, the seminar will explore the ramifications of these questions for the issue of scientific policy advice: what possible ways may scientists choose to address policy makers and the public? How are the uncertainties of the state of research best to be communicated? The seminar will include a primer on climate science. The class will be held in English; term papers may be written in English. Participation is restricted to 30 students. Please note that it's not a class on climate ethics.
