Students who pursue the bachelor of science diploma take programs that bridge the divide between philosophy and the sciences. Graduates can pursue careers starting from coverage advocate and compliance officer to affected person advocate.
“In society, we have all of these challenges where science and technology are wrapped up in complex social, political and legal problems,” mentioned Hicks, who led the major’s design. They famous that about two-thirds of the course requirements are in the humanities and social sciences. The remaining programs are in a STEM area the scholar chooses, reminiscent of information science, biology or public well being.
“We’re bringing these two perspectives together,” mentioned Hicks, who has taught philosophy and science coverage at UC Merced since 2019.
The questions that opened this story are based mostly on an actual occasion: In June 1988, climatologist James Hansen testified to a Senate committee that Earth was, at that second, hotter than at any time in measurable historical past. He warned that daylight trapped by gases reminiscent of carbon dioxide — the greenhouse impact — was already sturdy sufficient to set off unusually excessive climate.
It was a watershed second; for the primary time, an eminent local weather scientist, in a extremely public and politically potent discussion board, mentioned he was sure the planet was heating up past pure variations. In the years and many years that adopted, analysis confirmed Hansen’s projections of human-caused local weather change. But in the late ’80s, his interpretation of the info “was kind of out on a limb,” as one modern climatologist put it.
Today, society is in an analogous place with contentious points reminiscent of synthetic intelligence, vaccines, social media and (nonetheless) local weather change. There is a strong want for consultants who can determine and talk how rising applied sciences and discoveries might have an effect on folks and the planet.
First-year scholar Dylan Carlton mentioned he took Hicks’ ethics course as a result of it mixed his pursuits in know-how and philosophy. The class has given him new insights into how the 2 intertwine.
“The idea that experimentally verifiable knowledge could replace parts of philosophy was a fascinating perspective,” Carlton mentioned. “We explored what types of research should be prioritized, depending on complicated issues such as social consequences rather than simply academic advancement.”
Hicks brings to the course — and to the major — first-hand expertise with difficult points, thanks to a science fellowship that positioned them in roles with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Science Foundation. When college students reviewed a case research about chemical security, Hicks shared what they realized working with a workforce on the EPA.
“Philosophy isn’t you just sitting back and asking questions you find interesting,” Hicks mentioned. “It is a skill set you can bring to many workplaces and apply to a lot of important questions.”