Normative science

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In the applied sciences, normative science is a type of information that is developed, presented, or interpreted based on an assumed, usually unstated, preference for a particular outcome, policy or class of policies or outcomes. [1] Regular or traditional science does not presuppose a policy preference, but normative science, by definition, does. [2] Common examples of such policy preferences are arguments that pristine ecosystems are preferable to human altered ones, that native species are preferable to nonnative species, and that higher biodiversity is preferable to lower biodiversity. [3] [4]

In more general philosophical terms, normative science is a form of inquiry, typically involving a community of inquiry and its accumulated body of provisional knowledge, that seeks to discover good ways of achieving recognized aims, ends, goals, objectives, or purposes. [5] [6] Many political debates revolve around arguments over which of the many "good ways" shall be selected. [7] For example, when presented as scientific information, words such as ecosystem health, biological integrity, and environmental degradation are typically examples of normative science because they each presuppose a policy preference and are therefore a type of policy advocacy. [4] [8]

See also

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Conservation biology</span> Study of threats to biological diversity

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconciliation ecology</span> Study of maintaining biodiversity in human-dominated ecosystems

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecosystem management</span> Natural resource management

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fishing down the food web</span>

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Robert T. Lackey is a Canadian born fisheries scientist and political scientist living in the United States. He is best known for his work involving the interplay between science and policy, natural resource management, and assessments of the future of salmon runs. Lackey is a professor of fisheries and wildlife and adjunct professor of political science at Oregon State University. From 1981-2008, he held senior leadership posts at the United States Environmental Protection Agency research laboratory in Corvallis, Oregon.

Policy advocacy is defined as active, covert, or inadvertent support of a particular policy or class of policies. Advocacy can include a variety of activities including, lobbying, litigation, public education, and forming relationships with parties of interest. Advocating for policy can take place from a local level to a state or federal government. For example, a local advocacy group in Brunswick, Georgia, Defenders of Wildlife, advocated for the passage of the H.R. 5552 Migratory Bird Protection Act during 2020 when rollbacks to the bill were introduced from the Trump Administration. At the state level, advocacy for policy can be a joint effort between advocacy groups. In the United States, advocacy groups around the nation planned joint efforts to get the Uniform Partition of Heirs Property Act (UPHPA) signed into law in each of their respective states and in 2018, the bill was signed into law by Texas Governor Greg Abbott making it the tenth state to enforce this law.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William F. Laurance</span> American conservationist

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecosystem health</span>

Ecosystem health is a metaphor used to describe the condition of an ecosystem. Ecosystem condition can vary as a result of fire, flooding, drought, extinctions, invasive species, climate change, mining, fishing, farming or logging, chemical spills, and a host of other reasons. There is no universally accepted benchmark for a healthy ecosystem, rather the apparent health status of an ecosystem can vary depending upon which health metrics are employed in judging it and which societal aspirations are driving the assessment. Advocates of the health metaphor argue for its simplicity as a communication tool. "Policy-makers and the public need simple, understandable concepts like health." Some critics worry that ecosystem health, a "value-laden construct", can be "passed off as science to unsuspecting policy makers and the public." However, this term is often used in portraying the state of ecosystems worldwide and in conservation and management. For example, scientific journals and the UN often use the terms planetary and ecosystem health, such as the recent journal The Lancet Planetary Health.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biodiversity loss</span> Extinction of species and local ecosystem loss reduction or loss of species in a given habitat

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Economic ethics</span> Application of ethical principles to economic phenomena

Economic ethics is the combination of economics and ethics that unites value judgements from both disciplines to predict, analyze, and model economic phenomena. It encompasses the theoretical ethical prerequisites and foundations of economic systems. This particular school of thought dates back to the Greek philosopher Aristotle, whose Nicomachean Ethics describes the connection between objective economic principles and the consideration of justice. The academic literature on economic ethics is extensive, citing authorities such as natural law and religious law as influences on normative rules in economics. The consideration of moral philosophy, or that of a moral economy, is a point of departure in assessing behavioural economic models. The standard creation, application, and beneficiaries of economic models present a complex trilemma when ethics are considered. These ideas, in conjunction with the fundamental assumption of rationality in economics, create the link between economics and ethics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compassionate conservation</span>

Compassionate conservation is a discipline which aims to combine the fields of conservation and animal welfare. Historically, these two fields have been considered separate and sometimes contradictory to each other. The foundational principles of compassionate conservation are: "Do No Harm; Individuals Matter; Inclusivity; Peaceful Coexistence".

Adina Merenlender is a Professor of Cooperative Extension in Conservation Science at University of California, Berkeley in the Environmental Science, Policy, and Management Department, and is an internationally recognized conservation biologist known for land-use planning, watershed science, landscape connectivity, and naturalist and stewardship training.

References

  1. Lackey, Robert T. (2004). "Normative science". Fisheries. American Fisheries Society. 29(7): 38–39.
  2. Ooms, Gorik. (2014). "From international health to global health: how to foster better dialogue between empirical and normative disciplines". BMC International Health and Human Rights. 14: 36. doi : 10.1186/s12914-014-0036-5
  3. Lackey, Robert T. (2007). "Science, scientists, and policy advocacy". Conservation Biology. 21(1): 12-17. doi : 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2006.00639.x
  4. 1 2 Wilhere, George F. (2012). "Inadvertent advocacy". Conservation Biology. 26(1): 39–46. doi : 10.1111/j.1523-1739.2011.01805.x
  5. Sabine, George H. (1912). "Descriptive and normative sciences". The Philosophical Review. 21(4): 433-450. JSTOR   2177252
  6. Brueckner, Martin and Pierre Horwitz. (2005). "The use of science in environmental policy: a case study of the Regional Forest Agreement process in Western Australia". Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy. 1(2): 14–24. doi : 10.1080/15487733.2005.11907969
  7. Short, T. L. (2012). "Normative science?" Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society. 48(3): 310–334. JSTOR   10.2979/trancharpeirsoc.48.3.310
  8. Landis, Wayne G. (2007). "The Exxon Valdez oil spill revisited and the dangers of normative science". Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management. 3(3): 439–441. doi : 10.1002/ieam.5630030312