Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand

Financial conflicts of interest's challenge to precautionary science: the case of pollution from per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances

Grant number: 21/13983-9
Support Opportunities:Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
Start date: May 20, 2022
End date: December 19, 2022
Field of knowledge:Humanities - Philosophy - Epistemology
Principal Investigator:Pablo Rubén Mariconda
Grantee:Pedro Bravo de Souza
Supervisor: Kevin C. Elliott
Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
Institution abroad: Michigan State University (MSU), United States  
Associated to the scholarship:19/10200-3 - Model of interactions between scientific activities and values' contributions to the precautionary principle, BP.DR

Abstract

Defenders of the precautionary principle (PP) sometimes argue that it also has implications for how scientific research should be done. Decisions about what to study, how to study, and how to talk about scientific results for example should prioritize the same aim as PP: avoiding uncertain harms to the environment or human health. These normative assertions are often made under the ideal of a precautionary science. Precautionary science is theoretically plausible. Even different approaches in the science and values literature already amount to it. The question of how practically feasible it is though is less addressed. To fill this gap, this research aims to investigate how financial conflicts of interest (FCOI) pose a challenge to the feasibility of precautionary science. In order to do so, I will focus on the recent case of pollution from the class of chemicals called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). My hypothesis is that FCOI both hinder the prescriptions of precautionary science and promote non-precautionary decisions in scientific research. Since much of the science done for regulatory purposes has FCOI, its consequences in this context can constitute a major obstacle to a society which aspires to attain the PP's aim. (AU)

News published in Agência FAPESP Newsletter about the scholarship:
More itemsLess items
Articles published in other media outlets ( ):
More itemsLess items
VEICULO: TITULO (DATA)
VEICULO: TITULO (DATA)