Lee Cameron McIntyre is a research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

and an Instructor in Ethics at

Harvard Extension School Harvard Extension School (HES) is the extension school of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school is one among 12 schools that grant degrees and falls under the Division of Continuing Education in the Harvard Faculty of Arts ...

. He has published books and articles on the philosophy of the social sciences, as well as attempts to undermine science and the appropriate response to these attempts to scientists.

Early life and education

McIntyre earned a B.A. in

philosophy of social science The philosophy of social science is the study of the logic, methods, and foundations of social sciences (psychology, cultural anthropology, sociology, etc...). Philosophers of social science are concerned with the differences and similarities be ...

from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...

and an M.A. and

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is a ...

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. McIntyre's doctoral dissertation was on the status of law-like explanations in the

social sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

Career

McIntyre taught philosophy at

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

, Boston University,

Tufts Tufts University is a private research university on the border of Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1852 as Tufts College by Christian universalists who sought to provide a nonsectarian institution of higher learning. ...

Experimental College, and

Simmons College Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include: * Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts * Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky * Har ...

. In addition, he taught at the

, was Executive Director of the Institute for Quantitative Social Science at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and served as a policy advisor to the Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard. McIntyre was an Associate Editor in the Research Department of the

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, commonly known as the Boston Fed, is responsible for the First District of the Federal Reserve, which covers New England: Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont and all of Connecticut except ...

Body of work

McIntyre's books have been concerned with the nature of scientific knowledge generation and validation. These have included ''Explaining explanation, essays in the philosophy of the special sciences,'' ''Laws and explanation in the social sciences'', ''Dark ages: the case for a science of human behavior'', and ''Respecting truth: willful ignorance in the internet age''. In his 2018 book ''Post-Truth'', he explores the environment and "atmosphere" surrounding the concept of post-truth. Carlos Lozada, reviewer for the Washington Post, stated of ''Post-Truth'' that McIntyre "convincingly tracks how intelligent-design proponents and later climate deniers drew from postmodernism to undermine public perceptions of evolution and climate change." In his 2019 book, ''The Scientific Attitude: defending science from denial, fraud, and pseudoscience'', McIntyre describes scientific thinking, and therefore the demarcation problem, as a willingness to revise an opinion after discovering new evidence. A scientific attitude refers a willingness to collect, and be open and skeptical about data collected, which distinguishes science from

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or falsifiability, unfa ...

scientific denialism In the psychology of human behavior, denialism is a person's choice to deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth. Denialism is an essentially irrational action that withholds the validation of a historical experience ...

and conspiracy theories.

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of B ...

said that the book "articulates why the pursuit of scientific truths, even if inevitably flawed and subject to human error, matters."

Harriet Hall Harriet A. Hall (born July 2, 1945) is a U.S. retired family physician, former U.S. Air Force flight surgeon and skeptic who writes about alternative medicine and quackery for ''Skeptic'' and ''Skeptical Inquirer''. She writes under the name The ...

reviewed the book for ''

Skeptical Inquirer Magazine ''Skeptical Inquirer'' is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle: ''The Magazine for Science and Reason''. Mission statement and goals Daniel Loxton, writing in 2 ...

'' and writes that MacIntyre tries to explain science by explaining what it is not. He states that what the difference between what science is and it isn't is the "scientific attitude".

Essays and articles

McIntyre is the author of numerous philosophical essays that have appeared in '' Synthese'', ''

Philosophy of the Social Sciences The philosophy of social science is the study of the logic, methods, and foundations of social sciences (psychology, cultural anthropology, sociology, etc...). Philosophers of social science are concerned with the differences and similarities be ...

'', ''

Teaching Philosophy ''Teaching Philosophy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal devoted to the practical and theoretical discussion of teaching and learning philosophy, that is philosophy education. Established by Arnold Wilson in 1975, it has published more than 2,5 ...

'', '' Perspectives on Science'', ''

Biology and Philosophy ''Biology & Philosophy'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes articles about philosophy of biology, broadly understood to span conceptual, theoretical, and methodological issues in the biological sciences. The journal was founded b ...

'', ''Critica,'' and '' Theory and Decision'', as well as articles that have appeared in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', '' The Times Higher Education Supplement'', ''

The Humanist ''The Humanist'' is an American bi-monthly magazine published in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1941 by American Humanist Association. It covers topics in science, religion, media, technology, politics and popular culture and provides ethical ...

'', ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to rea ...

'', and ''Regional Review.'' ''The assault on science'' was published in the ''

Scientific American ''Scientific American'', informally abbreviated ''SciAm'' or sometimes ''SA'', is an American popular science magazine. Many famous scientists, including Albert Einstein and Nikola Tesla, have contributed articles to it. In print since 1845, it i ...

'' blog in 2019. The

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

published his article: ''Why Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lie... and why they are so good at it.'' McIntyre's article ''Flat Earthers and the Rise of Science Denial in America'' was reprinted as the cover story for the July 14, 2019, print edition of ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

''.

Books edited

MacIntyre is the co-editor of three anthologies: ''Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science'', ''Philosophy of Chemistry'', and ''Philosophy of Chemistry, 2nd edition''.

Presentations

Michael Shermer invited McIntyre to present on his program Science Salon # 77: The scientific attitude: defending science from denial, fraud, and pseudoscience. On March 17–20, 2021, McIntyre presented at the first Global Congress on Scientific Thinking and Action; in a presentation entitled ''Science Denialism'', he discussed his conversations with flat earth believers, which would become the basis of his forthcoming book, ''How to Talk to a Science Denier''. He stressed the importance of face-to-face conversations and gaining the trust of the people you are trying to convince.

Awards and recognition

''Post-Truth'' was named book of the week by

Fareed Zakaria Fareed Rafiq Zakaria (; born 20 January 1964) is an Indian-American journalist, political commentator, and author. He is the host of CNN's ''Fareed Zakaria GPS'' and writes a weekly paid column for ''The Washington Post.'' He has been a columnist ...

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

Other works

McIntyre also writes suspense fiction. The ''Sin Eater'' is a thriller by McIntyre published in 2019.

Bibliography

References

External links

Lee C. McIntyre homepage

Climate Science in an Age of Misinformation. (YouTube Video) Lecture at University of Rhode Island

The Price Of Denialism. in New York Times

The attack on truth. in The Chronicle of Higher Education

Truth in an Era of Fake News - Harvard Humanist Club

Why Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin lie... and why they are so good at it

"The Roots of the Post-Truth Era," The Brian Lehrer Show (NPR)/ "The Roots of the Post-Truth Era," The Brian Lehrer Show (NPR)

"Fake News Feels Good," The Colin McEnroe Show (NPR)
{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Lee C. Boston University faculty Philosophers of science 20th-century American philosophers University of Michigan alumni Wesleyan University alumni Living people Philosophers of social science Catlin Gabel School alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard Extension School faculty