Article ID: CBB001221697

The Role of “Complex” Empiricism in the Debates about Satellite Data and Climate Models (2012)

unapi

Climate scientists have been engaged in a decades-long debate over the standing of satellite measurements of the temperature trends of the atmosphere above the surface of the earth. This is especially significant because skeptics of global warming and the greenhouse effect have utilized this debate to spread doubt about global climate models used to predict future states of climate. I use this case from an understudied science to illustrate two distinct philosophical approaches to the relations among data, scientist, measurement, models, and theory. I argue that distinguishing between `direct' empiricist and `complex' empiricist approaches helps us understand and analyze this important scientific episode. I also introduce a complex empiricist account of testing and evaluation, and contrast it with the basic Hypothetico-Deductive approach to the climate models used by the direct empiricists. This more developed complex empiricist approach will serve philosophy of science well, as computational models become more widespread in the sciences.

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https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB001221697/

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Authors & Contributors
Heymann, Matthias
Jankovic, Vladimir
Fleming, James Rodger
Edwards, Paul N.
Gramelsberger, Gabriele
Fu, Lee-Lueng
Concepts
Climate and climatology
Models and modeling in science
Computer Simulation
Climate change
Earth sciences
Meteorology
Time Periods
21st century
20th century, late
20th century
19th century
Places
United States
Yugoslavia
Canada
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