Why do Groups Polarize over Matters of Fact? What Models Can and Cannot Tell Us

Tuesday, May 25
Understanding the Nature of Inference: Correlation and Causation Colloquium Series
James Weatherall, University of California at Irvine
Why Do Groups Polarize over Matters of Fact? What Models Can and Cannot Tell Us
3 pm, Zoom EST
Wednesday, May 26
Moderated conversation with Kevin Dorst, University of Pittsburgh
3 pm, Zoom EST

One striking feature of the current political environment in the United States and elsewhere is that there are large groups with divergent beliefs about matters of fact, including ones where there is a rich and widely accessible body of scientific evidence available that clearly favors one side. This talk will draw on recent modeling work to provide three distinct possible explanations of this polarization in belief, each of which invokes different mechanisms and recommends different remedies. Professor Weatherall will conclude with a discussion of what it means, from the perspective of the epistemology of model-based science, that such different models can produce such similar outcomes. The moral will be to caution against overly simplistic explanations of and silver bullet solutions to our current quandary in political epistemology.
Sponsored by the Franke Program in Science and the Humanities and John Templeton Foundation

Registration link
Poster