The aim of this project is to understand the role of narrative in modern science. Narratives have appeared in many places in the human, social and natural sciences over the past two centuries. They can be found both in accounts of real situations and in simulations of virtual situations, in empirical work and in theorizing. It is clear that narratives have played important roles for scientists well beyond the simple act of reporting. Yet we lack an account of what kinds of thing scientists know from using narrative and how such ‘narrative knowing’ is constituted. Indeed, with the notable exceptions of medicine and evolutionary biology, even the study of those field narratives, as narratives, has been largely ignored by both historians of science and narrative scholars. What do scientists gain from using narratives, what functions do narratives play? Initial research shows that scientists have used narratives to figure out what fits together with what, and to create coherence amongst the elements in their research. But the means of such ordering vary - from site to site, and from science to science. Narratives used to explore a path dependent system in nineteenth century biology used a different mode of ordering both from the configuring narratives of mid-twentieth century case studies in sociology, and from the ‘how possibly’ narratives of modern computer-based simulations. Such variety requires a broad project, using many case studies to explore the critical role that scientists’ narratives have played in modern science. Making sense of such variety offers an ambitious challenge. But while there is surely no simple answer to why scientists use narratives, all these notions of narrative ordering do have something in common. They suggest that narratives function not just to describe and report as one might expect, they play a much more important role in answering scientists’s own questions and so - in various ways - in providing scientific explanations.

Climate change poses ethical challenges to political activists. On the one hand, climate change threatens hundreds of millions of human lives. On the other hand, activists who want to prevent such a catastrophe may need to resort, in despair, to political means that seriously harm innocents. This project will assess in what circumstances, if at all, harming innocents in climate activism is morally justified. The project uniquely combines political philosophy methods (analogical reasoning, conceptual analysis, and proportionality assessments) with insights from climate-science and political-science studies on the effects of climate change and activism. The research outcomes will be disseminated to academic audiences (three articles; three international conferences and workshops; two online opinion notes) and the wider public (newspapers and online blog notes, a general public conference at a public library). LSE’s Department of Government provides optimal infrastructure (the world’s largest social sciences library, researchers working on closely related topics, dedicated staff for project management assistance). The supervisor is a leading expert in political activism. I have expertise in the key fields (political lesser evil, ideal/nonideal theory), a strong familiarity with the methods, experience in dissemination (international conference and workshop organisation, media appearances), and a network with researchers in influential institutions (UCL, Frankfurt University, Princeton University). With this Fellowship, I will expand my research network, acquire new research skills and knowledge from LSE researchers (in political activism, democratic theory, and human impacts from climate change), and publish articles in leading journals, increasing my chances of getting a permanent academic position in the European Research Area. I will transfer to the hosts knowledge (on global poverty, political lesser evil), as well as networking and conference organisation skills.