​ "So, we seem to be at an impasse over what poses the greater risk to the study of the human mind: gender bias or feminist bias. These two perspectives might seem poles apart, but they have something fundamental in common. They’re both concerned about threats to scientific objectivity – the principle that, as much as possible, science should remain untarnished by politics, cultural bias, interests or preferences. This commonality is good news." - ​Aeon 

Here you will find selected works by Cordelia Fine exploring the relations between science and political values. University of Melbourne students can also check out the subject ​Sex & Gender in the Sciences.

Cordelia has spoken on this topic at a range of events, including The Andrew Carnegie Lecture @ Glasgow University, The Bernal Lecture @ Birkbeck College London, International Academy of Sex Research (keynote), and forthcoming in the Moffett Lecture in Ethics @ Princeton University and the Center for Philosophy of Science @Pittsburgh University.

She has also been a signatory on letters in support of academic freedom in philosophy including in support of Professor Kathleen Stock, Sussex University (including this one).

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​"The goals of the special issue of this journal ... speak to the importance of social communities and the importance of diverse viewpoints in truthseeking, including those that might be unpopular."

​"When it comes to politically loaded scientific debates, the Australian philosopher Russell Blackford got it right: ‘We need to focus on evidence and arguments, and on ordinary fairness and compassion to others, even when we disagree.’" 

Fairly Criticized or Politicized: Conflicts in the Neuroscience of Sex Differences in the Human Brain (forthcoming in M Breedlove & C Jordan [Eds] edited volume on sex differences in the brain, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory press).

​"Within a week of the Queen's speech setting out British government plans for new laws to protect freedom of speech at universities, British newspapers ran a story of a 'Student investigated after saying women must have vaginas and men are stronger', as one headline put it."

"Investigations of sex differences in the human brain take place on politically sensitive terrain. While some scholars express concern that gendered biases and stereotypes remain embedded in scientific research, others are alarmed about the politicization of science. To help better understand these debates, this chapter sets out three kinds of conflicts that can arise in the neuroscience of sex differences: academic freedom versus gender equality; frameworks, background assumptions, and dominant methodologies; and inductive risk and social values. The boundaries between fair criticism and politicization are explored for each kind of conflict, pointing to ways in which the academic community can facilitate fair criticism while protecting against politicization." 

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