Symposium 2020 Panel: Lessons on Science, Trust, Human Nature, and Policy

Much as we might believe that we always think and act rationally, human beings make decisions based on many factors: values, biases, trust (or mistrust) in institutions, and the information landscape all play a role. In this panel, Corey Flintoff (retired NPR international correspondent) moderates a discussion with Jandel Allen-Davis (President & CEO of Craig Hospital) and Daniel Sarewitz, Co-Director of the Consortium for Science, Policy & Outcomes at Arizona State University.

About the Panelists:
Corey Flintoff is a retired international correspondent for National Public Radio, previously based in Moscow. His journalism career has taken him to more than 50 countries, most recently to cover the civil war in Libya, the revolution in Egypt and the war in Afghanistan. He has a bachelor's degree from University of California at Berkeley and a master's degree from University of Chicago.

Jandel Allen-Davis, MD, is the President and CEO of Craig Hospital in Denver, Colorado, a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in the neuro-rehabilitation and research of patients with spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. Dr. Allen-Davis believes health care will improve when all the primary stakeholder groups — clinicians, patients, elected officials, community leaders and employers — can collaborate effectively to put the patient at the center. Dr. Allen-Davis has an extensive history in healthcare with focus on obstetrics and gynecology.

Daniel Sarewitz’s work focuses on revealing the connections between science policy decisions, scientific research and social outcomes. How does the distribution of the social benefits of science relate to the way that we organize scientific inquiry? What accounts for the highly uneven advance of know-how related to solving human problems? How do the interactions between scientific uncertainty and human values influence decision making? How does technological innovation influence politics? And how can improved insight into such questions contribute to improved real-world practice? His current activities include a project (with writer Lee Gutkind) on harmonies between science and religion. Sarewitz edits the magazine Issues in Science and Technology, and is a regular columnist for Nature magazine.

[ellenlewis]

Excellent discussion. Clarifying and elevating values, common interests, and using science to implement those, is a wonderful concluding theme.