Dr. Margherita Harris

I am a philosopher of science whose work focuses on the epistemological and methodological foundations of scientific inquiry, particularly how conceptualizations and communications of uncertainty shape the trustworthiness of scientific knowledge in policy-relevant contexts. My research has so far focused on robustness analysis, uncertainty quantification in climate science, and the role of models in generating probabilistic statements.

While important, discussions about values in science have too often overshadowed the equally critical need to rigorously examine the epistemic and methodological foundations of uncertainty quantification. My work seeks to address this gap by disentangling these issues and scrutinizing uncertainty quantification to enhance the reliability and trustworthiness of scientific knowledge. At the SOCRATES Center, I plan to critically examine practices like “quantifauxcation”—the illusion of meaningful quantification without rigorous justification—and their role in complicating the communication of uncertainty. I also aim to explore alternative approaches to uncertainty when probabilistic reasoning is not viable, investigating how these practices affect trust and credibility in science.

Of course, there’s more to a philosopher than her primary research interests! For years, I’ve talked endlessly (and perhaps excessively) about the ethics and philosophy of relationships despite having not published anything on the topic—yet. I’m currently co-authoring a paper titled “Just Pay Attention to Me: Flourishing Relationships Without Commitments” and working on a philosophical play, both of which promise to capture ideas I’ve long explored in my thoughts and actions.

I hold a PhD in Philosophy from the London School of Economics, where I wrote my dissertation titled Conceptualizing Uncertainty: The IPCC, Model Robustness, and the Weight of Evidence. After completing my PhD, I was a guest teacher at LSE, teaching courses on philosophy of science and various other topics. I then held a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh, and I now have a postdoctoral position at the SOCRATES Centre.