Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Philosophical Analysis

null, Michael Weisberg (University of Pennsylvania)

We are happy to announce that Michael Weisberg will give an online lecture on 25th October at CASIP. The topic is: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Philosophical Analysis.

The lecture is jointly organized by the Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CASIP), and the Philosophy and Science of Intelligence Center (PSI), Fudan University. Everyone is welcome to attend. More information can be found below.

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CASIP Lecture: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability to Climate Change: A Philosophical Analysis

Organizer: Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Sciences（CASIP）

Abstract

Most public and philosophical attention about climate change is focused on the physical bases of the changing climate, and tools to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. But an equally important aspect of climate research is broadly called 'adaptation,' or more formally 'climate risk.' Climate risks arise when hazards associated with climate change intersect with the distribution of people and the availability of response options. Averting, minimizing, and addressing these risks requires understanding extraordinarily complex human/climate systems and producing effective policy tools. This lecture gives a critical analysis of the way such matters are conceptualized by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the UN agencies charged with addressing them. I will then discuss several important open research questions in this area, and conclude with an invitation to philosophers of science to be more deeply involved at the technical and policy levels.

Biography

Michael Weisberg is Professor and Chair of Philosophy, as well as Senior Faculty Fellow and Director of Post-Graduate Programs at Perry World House. He serves as Editor-in-Chief of Biology and Philosophy, advisor to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Nairobi Work Programme, and directs Penn’s campus-wide transdisciplinary research in Galápagos. He is the author of Simulation and Similarity: Using Models to Understand the World and Galápagos: Life in Motion, as well as a contributing author to the IPCC's 6th Assessment Report. Much of Professor Weisberg’s research is focused on how highly idealized models and simulations can be used to understand complex systems. He also leads efforts to better understanding the interface between humans and wildlife, between humans and the climate system, and how scientific issues are understood by communities in the Americas and in East Asia. Professor Weisberg received a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of California, San Diego in 1999, and continued graduate study in Philosophy and Evolutionary Biology at Stanford University, earning a 2003 Ph.D. in Philosophy.

Speaker: Michael Weisberg (University of Pennsylvania)

Chair: Jing Zhu (Xiamen University)

Commentators:

Yanfen Wang (University of Chinese Academy of Sciences)

Cunde Xiao (Faculty of Geographical Science, Beijing Normal University)

Jianhui Li (Beijing Normal University)

Time: Monday, 25th October 2021 7:30PM—9:30PM(UTC+8)

Online Platform: Zoom

Zoom Address:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4895505875?pwd=TktkSktBZXg0Yldja0xTZGNKK0pBQT09

Meeting ID: 489 550 5875

Passcode: 6666

Language: English

Contact:

Tung-Ying Wu: [email protected]

Mingjun Zhang: [email protected]