Abstract

In this address, I bemoan philosophy’s apparent lack of practical application and lack of public attention. I suggest that philosophers may have the duty in the 21st century to raise public consciousness of the scientific method, that is, to explain how to identify an empirical issue, how to investigate it, how to determine what counts as relevant evidence, etc. This may help others to distinguish science from technology so that they can make informed ethical decisions, to distinguish science from religion so that they can free themselves from superstition, and to distinguish science from pseudoscience so that they can take better control of their own lives