Unconference Session, [AIMOS 2020](https://aimos.community/2020-details), Dec 04 13:30-15:30 AEST, on:
## Racism and the Expectation of Scientific Neutrality
Eden T. Smith and Hannah Fraser (AUS)
Abstract
#### Abstract:
There is an expectation that scientists maintain a neutral stance in public debates. For example, consider the [outraged comments](https://twitter.com/nature/status/1270648031411568640?s=20) on twitter posts supporting STEM academics in the U.S. participating in Black Lives Matter strikes in mid-2020. This disapproval of scientists speaking in public about their personal experiences or political views is not new. Yet this expectation of scientific neutrality is at odds with the contingencies of objective knowledge documented by historical and contemporary studies of scientific practices. This suggests that, in terms of the sciences as actually practiced, neutrality is a myth. A myth that obscures how default assumptions contribute to scientific knowledge and reinforces the impacts of systemic bias within academia -- including racism. Have you experienced this expectation of neutrality? When assessing scientific claims, what contextual contingencies do you consider? What resources are available to you if you want to start a discussion about the impacts of systemic racism in your field of research? Following the [AIMOS-2019 workshop on collaborations between philosophers and scientists](https://osf.io/whkvj/), this unconference aims to facilitate a discussion about what resources might help us better navigate the myth of neutrality when it comes to resisting systemic racism within interdisciplinary research practices.
#### Additional Resources:
- [Resources for Discussing Racism within the Sciences](https://osf.io/3cyjr/wiki/home/)
- [Resources for Discussing the Contingency of Objective Knowledges](https://osf.io/4wyf5/wiki/home/)
- [Introduction to Contemporary Philosophy of the Sciences as Practiced](https://osf.io/jcpb9/wiki/home/)
- Rachael Brown's AIMOS2020 talk on 'Beyond Falsificationism: The Value of Contemporary Philosophy of Science to Metascience' (location of recording & slide tbc)
