Hilary Lawson

In Conversation with John Ioannidis: Truth, Science and Reality

The replication crisis vs truth

HowTheLightGetsIn London 2024

Most of us think science to be true, but Stanford professor John Ioannidis has demonstrated that the majority of scientific papers make claims that are never successfully repeated and we should therefore conclude are false. Meanwhile, post-realist philosopher, Hilary Lawson argues that science is never true in the sense of describing the ultimate character of reality, but is instead a way of framing the world to enable us to intervene. Join them to explore the problematic relationship between science, truth and reality, and what it means for our understanding of the world. 

The Panel

John Ioannidis is a physician, scientist and writer as well as a professor at Stanford University. He is the author of Why Most Published Research Findings Are False. Hilary Lawson is a philosopher and long-standing critic of realism, best known for his theory of closure. Hosted by Imperial College London Material Physicist Jess Wade.