Lee C. McIntyre
Lee C. McIntyre is a research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University[1] and an Instructor in Ethics at Harvard Extension School.[2] He has published books and articles on the philosophy of the social sciences, as well as attempts to undermine science and the appropriate response to these attempts to scientists.[3][4]
Lee C. McIntyre | |
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Born | Lee Cameron McIntyre Portland, Oregon, USA |
Occupation | Philosopher, author, educator |
Nationality | American |
Period | 1994–present |
Genre | Non-fiction, crime fiction, thriller |
Website | |
www |
Education
McIntyre earned a B.A. in philosophy of social science from Wesleyan University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. McIntyre's doctoral dissertation[5] was on the status of law-like explanations in the social sciences.[6]
Career
McIntyre taught philosophy at Colgate University, Boston University, Tufts Experimental College, Simmons College, and Harvard Extension School. He was Executive Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University, He has served as a policy advisor to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard and as an Associate Editor in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
Body of work
McIntyre's books have been concerned with the nature of scientific knowledge generation and validation. These have included Explaining explanation, essays in the philosophy of the special sciences,[7] Laws and explanation in the social sciences,[6] Dark ages: the case for a science of human behavior,[8] and Respecting truth: willful ignorance in the internet age.[9]
In his 2018 book Post-Truth,[3] he explores the environment and "atmosphere" surrounding the concept of post-truth.[10] Carlos Lozada, reviewer for the Washington Post, stated of Post-Truth that McIntyre "convincingly tracks how intelligent-design proponents and later climate deniers drew from postmodernism to undermine public perceptions of evolution and climate change."[11]
In his 2019 book, The Scientific Attitude: defending science from denial, fraud, and pseudoscience,[4] McIntyre describes scientific thinking, and therefore the demarcation problem, as a willingness to revise an opinion after discovering new evidence. A scientific attitude refers a willingness to collect, and be open and skeptical about data collected, which distinguishes science from pseudoscience, scientific denialism and conspiracy theories.[4][12] Publishers Weekly said that the book "articulates why the pursuit of scientific truths, even if inevitably flawed and subject to human error, matters."[13] Harriet Hall reviewed the book for Skeptical Inquirer Magazine and writes that MacIntyre tries to explain science by explaining what it is not. He states that what the difference between what science is and it isn't is the "scientific attitude".[14]
Essays and articles
McIntyre is the author of numerous philosophical essays that have appeared in Synthese,[15][16][17]Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Teaching Philosophy, Perspectives on Science, Biology and Philosophy, Critica, and Theory and Decision, as well as articles that have appeared in The New York Times,[18]The Times Higher Education Supplement, The Humanist,[19] The Chronicle of Higher Education,[20] [21]and Regional Review. The assault on science was published in the Scientific American blog in 2019.[22] The New Statesman published his article: Why Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lie... and why they are so good at it.[23]
McIntyre's article Flat Earthers and the Rise of Science Denial in America [24]was reprinted as the cover story for the July 14, 2019, print edition of Newsweek.[24][25]
Books edited
MacIntyre is the co-editor of three anthologies: Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science,[26] Philosophy of Chemistry, and Philosophy of Chemistry, 2nd edition.[27][28]
Presentations
Michael Shermer invited McIntyre to present on his program Science Salon # 77: The scientific attitude: defending science from denial, fraud, and pseudoscience.[29]
Awards and recognition
Post-Truth was named book of the week by Fareed Zakaria of CNN.[30]
Other works
McIntyre also writes suspense fiction. The Sin Eater is a thriller by McIntyre published in 2019.[31]
Bibliography
Publication order | Title | Year | Publisher |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science . (Co-editor with Michael Martin, Boston University) | 1994 | Cambridge: MIT Press |
2 | Laws and Explanation in the Social Sciences: Defending a Science of Human Behavior | 1996 | Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press |
3 | Philosophy of Chemistry: Synthesis of a New Discipline. (Co-editor with Davis Baird, University of South Carolina, and Eric Scerri, UCLA) | 2006 | Dordrecht: Springer Publishers |
4 | Dark Ages: The Case for a Science of Human Behavior | 2006 | Cambridge: MIT Press |
5 | Explaining Explanation: Essays in the Philosophy of the Special Sciences | 2012 | Lanham, Md.: UPA/Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group |
6 | Philosophy of Chemistry: Growth of a New Discipline, 2nd edition. (Co-editor with Eric Scerri, UCLA). | 2014 | Dordrecht: Springer Publishers |
7 | Respecting Truth: Willful Ignorance in the Internet Age | 2015 | New York: Routledge Publishers |
8 | The Routledge Companion to Philosophy of Social Science | 2017 | New York: Routledge Publishers |
9 | Post-Truth | 2018 | Cambridge: MIT Press |
10 | The Scientific Attitude | 2019 | Cambridge; MIT Press |
11 | The Sin Eater | 2019 | Los Angeles; Braveship Books |
References
- "Lee McIntyre » Center for Philosophy & History of Science | Blog Archive | Boston University". www.bu.edu. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- "Lee C. McIntyre | Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs". www.carnegiecouncil.org. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- McIntyre, Lee C. (February 16, 2018). Post-Truth. Cambridge, Massachusetts. ISBN 9780262535045. OCLC 1002297524.
- McIntyre, Lee C. (May 7, 2019). The scientific attitude : defending science from denial, fraud, and pseudoscience. Cambridge, Massachusetts. ISBN 9780262039833. OCLC 1050140618.
- "Lee McIntyre". Harvard Extension School. 12 June 2017. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- McIntyre, Lee C. (1996). Laws and explanation in the social sciences : defending a science of human behavior. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press. ISBN 0813328284. OCLC 34281771.
- McIntyre, Lee C (2012). Explaining explanation : essays in the philosophy of the special sciences. Lanham, Maryland. ISBN 9780761858690. OCLC 779265260.
- McIntyre, Lee C. (2006). Dark ages : the case for a science of human behavior. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. ISBN 9780262279512. OCLC 76823283.
- McIntyre, Lee C. (2015). Respecting truth : willful ignorance in the Internet age. New York. ISBN 9781138888807. OCLC 896601738.
- Evers, Robert Daniel (March 20, 2018). "Is Life in a 'Post-Truth' World Sustainable?". PopMatters. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- Lozada, Carlos. "Can truth survive this president? An honest investigation". Washington Post. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- Gwilliams, Drew (June 21, 2019). "The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience". Chemistry World. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- "Nonfiction Book Review: The Scientific Attitude: Defending Science from Denial, Fraud, and Pseudoscience". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- Hall, Harriet (2020). "Truth Matters, and the Scientific Attitude Helps Find It". Skeptical Inquirer. Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. 44 (2): 63–64.
- McIntyre, Lee C. (1993). "Editorial Introduction: Empiricism in the Philosophy of Social Science". Synthese. 97 (2): 159. ISSN 0039-7857. JSTOR 20117836.
- McIntyre, Lee C. (1993). "Complexity and Social Scientific Laws". Synthese. 97 (2): 209–227. ISSN 0039-7857. JSTOR 20117839.
- Scerri, Eric R.; McIntyre, Lee (1997). "The Case for the Philosophy of Chemistry". Synthese. 111 (3): 213–232. doi:10.1023/A:1004949814965. ISSN 0039-7857. JSTOR 20117633.
- McIntyre, Lee (2015-11-07). "The Price of Denialism". Opinionator. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- McIntyre, Lee (2007). "The dark ages of social science". American Humanist Association. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
- Mcintyre, Lee (2015-06-08). "The Attack on Truth". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- Mcintyre, Lee (2011-12-11). "Making Philosophy Matter—or Else". The Chronicle of Higher Education. ISSN 0009-5982. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- McIntyre, Lee (22 May 2019). "How to Reverse the Assault on Science". Scientific American Blog Network. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- McIntyre, Lee C (3 January 2018). "Why Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lie... and why they are so good at it". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- McIntyre, Lee (2019-05-14). "Flat Earthers, and the rise of science denial in America | Opinion". Newsweek. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- Rose, Steven (2019-08-21). "The Scientific Attitude by Lee McIntyre review – a defence against denial, fraud and pseudoscience". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-11-08.
- Readings in the philosophy of social science. Martin, Michael, 1932-2015., McIntyre, Lee C. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press. 1994. ISBN 0262132966. OCLC 29386457.CS1 maint: others (link)
- Scerri, Eric; McIntyre, Lee (2014-11-11). Philosophy of chemistry : growth of a new discipline. Scerri, Eric R.,, McIntyre, Lee C. Dordrecht. ISBN 9789401793643. OCLC 895161921.
- McIntyre, Lee; Scerri, Eric (1997). "Editorial Introduction to Philosophy of Chemistry". Synthese. 111 (3): 211–212. doi:10.1023/A:1004983130895. ISSN 0039-7857. JSTOR 20117632.
- Shermer, Michael (2019-07-30). "eSkeptic for July 30, 2019". Skeptic. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
- Zakaria, Fareed (April 15, 2018). "Books of the Week". CNN. Retrieved November 9, 2019.
- McIntyre, Lee (2019). The Sin Eater. Los Angeles: Braveship Books. ISBN 978-1640620889.
External links
- Lee C. McIntyre homepage
- Climate Science in an Age of Misinformation. (YouTube Video) Lecture at University of Rhode Island
- The Price Of Denialism. in New York Times
- The attack on truth. in The Chronicle of Higher Education
- Truth in an Era of Fake News - Harvard Humanist Club
- Why Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lie... and why they are so good at it
- "The Roots of the Post-Truth Era," The Brian Lehrer Show (NPR)/ "The Roots of the Post-Truth Era," The Brian Lehrer Show (NPR)
- "Fake News Feels Good," The Colin McEnroe Show (NPR)