Interview with Nancy Cartwright, 18th Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Humanities

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Humanities category has gone in this 18th edition to Nancy Cartwright (Durham University, United Kingdom, and University of California San Diego, United States) for what the committee calls her “decisive contributions” to the philosophy of science. For five decades now, Cartwright’s seminal work has “built a bridge between philosophy and the actual practice of science” through her innovative vision of such key concepts as causality and the laws of nature. 00:00 Introduction 00:21 You have been granted the Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Humanities for bridging philosophy with the actual practice of science, in the words of the committee. How has your work contributed to building this bridge? 02:42 Why do you consider that the laws of physics are not universal, and that real scientific practice is a dappled world, or a patchwork of different domains? 05:29 What has your work contributed to the philosophy of the social science in fields such as economics and public health? 09:23 Part of the award refers to your work on causal inference. What do you feel you have contributed here? 11:30 One of your big projects has been Knowledge for Use. What does that mean, and what did the project do? For more information: https://www.frontiersofknowledgeawards-fbbva.es/noticias/the-frontiers-of-knowledge-award-goes-to-nancy-cartwright-for-her-use-of-philosophy-to-strengthen-scientific-rationality-and-inform-the-adoption-of-effective-evidence-based-public-policies