Eric Winsberg (born February 4, 1968) is an American philosopher who is a professor of philosophy at the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, Tampa, Florida, United States, and other campuses in St. Petersburg, Florida, St. Petersburg and Sarasota, ...

. From 2023 until 2027 he will hold a Global Professorship from the

British Academy The British Academy for the Promotion of Historical, Philosophical and Philological Studies is the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and the social sciences. It was established in 1902 and received its royal charter in the sa ...

in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

. He is known for his research in

philosophy of science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

, in particular the philosophy of climate science, and the

philosophy of physics In philosophy, the philosophy of physics deals with conceptual and interpretational issues in physics, many of which overlap with research done by certain kinds of theoretical physicists. Historically, philosophers of physics have engaged with ...

. He is especially interested in the role of

computer simulation Computer simulation is the running of a mathematical model on a computer, the model being designed to represent the behaviour of, or the outcome of, a real-world or physical system. The reliability of some mathematical models can be determin ...

s in the physical sciences. His work in the philosophy of

climate science Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "slope"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. Climate concerns the atmospher ...

specifically relates to its application in science policy and ethics. He was an early critic of many of the public health policies aimed at mitigating the Covid-19 pandemic, arguing that the quality of the science justifying these policies was poor or missing, and that many of the policies unnecessarily sacrificed the welfare of the young and the poor. He also writes on truth and on scientific authorship.

Early life and education

Winsberg was born in New York City on February 4, 1968. His father was a physician and his mother was a data scientist. At an early age, his family moved to Montreal, where he spend most of his childhood. He attended college at The

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

, and then earned his Ph.D, in

History and Philosophy of Science The history and philosophy of science (HPS) is an academic discipline that encompasses the philosophy of science and the history of science. Although many scholars in the field are trained primarily as either historians or as philosophers, there ...

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

in 1999.

Philosophical work

Winsberg wrote his doctoral dissertation on the use of

to study complex physical systems. Over the next several years, he published a number of articles on computer simulation, including their implications for understanding the nature of scientific theories and their application, scientific realism, the role of fiction in science, and the nature of inter-theoretic reduction. His work on computer simulation has been called "pioneering," "groundbreaking," and "trailblazing." He also contributed to the literature on the role of the

thermodynamics Thermodynamics is a branch of physics that deals with heat, Work (thermodynamics), work, and temperature, and their relation to energy, entropy, and the physical properties of matter and radiation. The behavior of these quantities is governed b ...

for understanding the

arrow of time An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ca ...

. More recently he has devoted much of his attention to topics in

, especially the role of values therein, the importance of the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, the nature of probabilities and the role of robust results in

climate model Numerical climate models (or climate system models) are mathematical models that can simulate the interactions of important drivers of climate. These drivers are the atmosphere, oceans, land surface and ice. Scientists use climate models to st ...

ing and climate science generally.

Publications

Books

*''Philosophy and Climate Science''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2018. *''Science in the age of computer simulation''

University of Chicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the university press of the University of Chicago, a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is the largest and one of the oldest university presses in the United States. It pu ...

, 2010. *''Climate Modelling: Philosophical and Conceptual Issues,'' edited with

Elisabeth Lloyd Elisabeth Anne Lloyd (born September 3, 1956) is an American philosopher of science specialising in the philosophy of biology. She is currently Distinguished Professor of History and Philosophy of Science and Medicine - as well as Adjunct Professo ...

Palgrave MacMillan
2018.

Journal articles

*"Simulated Experiments: Methodology for a virtual World." ''

Philosophy of Science Philosophy of science is the branch of philosophy concerned with the foundations, methods, and implications of science. Amongst its central questions are the difference between science and non-science, the reliability of scientific theories, ...

'' 70: pages 105-125. 2003.
GoogleScholar author summary *"Sanctioning models: the epistemology of simulation." '' Science in Context'' 12: pages 275-202. 1999. *"Simulations, models, and theories: Complex physical systems and their representations". ''Philosophy of Science'' 70, pages 105-125. 2001. *"Severe weather event attribution: Why values won't go away." with

and

Naomi Oreskes Naomi Oreskes (; born November 25, 1958) is an American historian of science. She became Professor of the History of Science and Affiliated Professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University in 2013, after 15 years as Professor of H ...

Studies in History and Philosophy of Science
'

References

External links

Personal faculty website
*
The Philosophy of Climate Science
article in the ''

Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy The ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' (''IEP'') is a scholarly online encyclopedia with around 900 articles about philosophy, philosophers, and related topics. The IEP publishes only peer review, peer-reviewed and blind-refereed original p ...

'' 1968 births Living people University of South Florida faculty American philosophers of science Indiana University Bloomington alumni University of Chicago alumni {{US-philosopher-stub