In today's day and age, we can request an avalanche of information with the click of a mouse. Everyone faces the difficult problem of deciding what information is trusted and reliable versus what is untrustworthy and ephemeral. The key to deciding what information to accept involves being clear about the standards of evidence. But not all “facts” are subject to the same standards and oftentimes those standards are disputed. What, then, to believe? Scientia calls on speakers from different disciplines to explore the meaning of facts, evidence and knowledge during the 2017-2018 Academic Year.
Scientia is a faculty-led Institute at Rice that promotes multidisciplinary engagement to benefit the University and the Houston community at large.
2017 Fall Lecture Schedule
September 12, 2017, 4pm | McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
"Theories About Facts"
Richard Grandy
Carolyn and Fred McManis Professor of Philosophy, Rice University
Video is available here.
October 17, 2017, 4pm | McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
"Talking Climate: Why Facts Are Not Enough"
Katharine Hayhoe
Atmospheric Scientist and Director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University
Video is available here.
November 14, 2017, 4pm | McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
"Political Conspiracies, Rhetoric and Alternative Facts"
Rick Wilson
Herbert S. Autrey Professor of Political Science and Scientia Institute Director
Video is available here.
2018 Spring Lecture Schedule
Bochner Lecture
January 11, 2018, 4pm | McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
"The Fiction of Memory"
Elizabeth Loftus
Distinguished Professor, University of California, Irvine
Video is available here.
January 23, 2018, 4pm | McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
"What's a Fact Anyway? Insights from a Journalist, a Scientist, a Lawyer and a Sheep"
David Leebron
President, Rice University
Video is available here.
February 20, 2018, 4pm | McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
"Giving Science Advice to the President is Getting Harder - Do Facts Really Matter Much?"
Neal Lane
Senior Fellow in Science and Technology Policy at the Baker institute and Malcom Gillis University Professor Emeritus, Rice University
Video is available here.
March 20, 2018, 4pm | McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
"The Questionable Relevance of Facts: Information, Beliefs and Identity"
Johanna Dunaway
Associate Professor, Department of Communication, Texas A&M University
Video is available here.
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