Wokeness in Science: Critiquing a critique

Micro-Digressions: A Philosophy Podcast

MIT philosophy professor Alex Byrne and podcast regular Matt Lutz join Spencer to discuss an article that recently appeared in the Journal of Controversial Ideas entitled "A Defense of Merit in Science." The article, which was written by 27 co-authors, including many social scientists, alleges that the "liberal epistemology" that underlies science is under threat by the institutionalized influence of identity-based ideologies. (The article doesn't use the term "wokeness", but the left identitarian ideologies whose influence it critiques can plausibly be called "woke.") The three conversation partners consider the strengths and weaknesses of the article and also evaluate some of the objections critics have raised.