On the consequential, rigorous, and inquisitive science that should support a vision of a healthier world.
I recently contemplated how we might do a better job of engaging with the complexity of moral argument on issues of consequence for health. Today, I would like to continue this theme by revisiting an essay about the role of data in shaping and communicating our moral vision. While I have written about the importance of a values-based case for health, I balance that with the contention that such a case should rest on the best possible data, informed by science that is rigorous, consequential, and engaged with questions of central concern for health. It is science that helps us to engage in conversations that inform and persuade, to shape a movement for health. At the same time, data have a persuasive power all their own, even when they are not presented as part of a broader moral vision. Sometimes, clearly presenting the facts about a given issue can be enough to change minds. For these reasons, we should be centrally concerned with the integrity of the science that generates our data as a prerequisite to making the moral case for healthier populations.
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