Cailin O'Connor – författare

In almost every human society some people get more and others get less. Why is inequity the rule in these societies? In The Origins of Unfairness, philosopher Cailin O'Connor firstly considers how groups are divided into social categories, like gender, race, and religion, to address this question. She uses the formal frameworks of game theory and evolutionary game theory to explore the cultural evolution of the conventions which piggyback on these seemingly irrelevant social categories. These frameworks elucidate a variety of topics from the innateness of gender differences, to collaboration in academia, to household bargaining, to minority disadvantage, to homophily. They help to show how inequity can emerge from simple processes of cultural change in groups with gender and racial categories, and under a wide array of situations. The process of learning conventions of coordination and resource division is such that some groups will tend to get more and others less. O'Connor offers solutions to such problems of coordination and resource division and also shows why we need to think of inequity as part of an ever evolving process. Surprisingly minimal conditions are needed to robustly produce phenomena related to inequity and, once inequity emerges in these models, it takes very little for it to persist indefinitely. Thus, those concerned with social justice must remain vigilant against the dynamic forces that push towards inequity.

In almost every human society some people get more and others get less. Why is inequity the rule in these societies? In The Origins of Unfairness, philosopher Cailin O'Connor firstly considers how groups are divided into social categories, like gender, race, and religion, to address this question. She uses the formal frameworks of game theory and evolutionary game theory to explore the cultural evolution of the conventions which piggyback on these seemingly irrelevant social categories. These frameworks elucidate a variety of topics from the innateness of gender differences, to collaboration in academia, to household bargaining, to minority disadvantage, to homophily. They help to show how inequity can emerge from simple processes of cultural change in groups with gender and racial categories, and under a wide array of situations. The process of learning conventions of coordination and resource division is such that some groups will tend to get more and others less. O'Connor offers solutions to such problems of coordination and resource division and also shows why we need to think of inequity as part of an ever evolving process. Surprisingly minimal conditions are needed to robustly produce phenomena related to inequity and, once inequity emerges in these models, it takes very little for it to persist indefinitely. Thus, those concerned with social justice must remain vigilant against the dynamic forces that push towards inequity.

The social dynamics of “alternative facts”: why what you believe depends on who you know“Empowering and thoroughly researched, this book offers useful contemporary analysis and possible solutions to one of the greatest threats to democracy.”—Kirkus ReviewsEditors’ choice, New York Times Book Review   •  Recommended reading, Scientific AmericanWhy should we care about having true beliefs? And why do demonstrably false beliefs persist and spread despite bad, even fatal, consequences for the people who hold them?Philosophers of science Cailin O’Connor and James Weatherall argue that social factors, rather than individual psychology, are what’s essential to understanding the spread and persistence of false beliefs. It might seem that there’s an obvious reason that true beliefs matter: false beliefs will hurt you. But if that’s right, then why is it (apparently) irrelevant to many people whether they believe true things or not?The Misinformation Age, written for a political era riven by “fake news,” “alternative facts,” and disputes over the validity of everything from climate change to the size of inauguration crowds, shows convincingly that what you believe depends on who you know. If social forces explain the persistence of false belief, we must understand how those forces work in order to fight misinformation effectively.

This Element will overview research using models to understand scientific practice. Models are useful for reasoning about groups and processes that are complicated and distributed across time and space, i.e., those that are difficult to study using empirical methods alone. Science fits this picture. For this reason, it is no surprise that researchers have turned to models over the last few decades to study various features of science. The different sections of the element are mostly organized around different modeling approaches. The models described in this element sometimes yield take-aways that are straightforward, and at other times more nuanced. The Element ultimately argues that while these models are epistemically useful, the best way to employ most of them to understand and improve science is in combination with empirical methods and other sorts of theorizing.

This Element will overview research using models to understand scientific practice. Models are useful for reasoning about groups and processes that are complicated and distributed across time and space, i.e., those that are difficult to study using empirical methods alone. Science fits this picture. For this reason, it is no surprise that researchers have turned to models over the last few decades to study various features of science. The different sections of the element are mostly organized around different modeling approaches. The models described in this element sometimes yield take-aways that are straightforward, and at other times more nuanced. The Element ultimately argues that while these models are epistemically useful, the best way to employ most of them to understand and improve science is in combination with empirical methods and other sorts of theorizing.