Daniel Steel

Daniel Steel is an Associate Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the University of British Columbia, affiliated with the Faculty of Arts. He is also an Associate Member of the W. Maurice Young Centre for Applied Ethics and the School of Population and Public Health at UBC. His research focuses on ethical-epistemic issues in science, particularly in environmental and public health contexts. Steel holds a Ph.D. from the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

He has authored influential books including Philosophy and the Precautionary Principle: Science, Evidence, and Environmental Policy (Cambridge 2015) and Across the Boundaries: Extrapolation in Biology and Social Science (Oxford 2008). He co-edited Current Controversies in Values and Science (Routledge 2017). His work explores how ethical considerations intersect with scientific decision-making, emphasizing precautionary approaches to environmental risks.

Steel received a SSHRC Insight Grant ($73,500, 2017-2020) for research on diversity concepts and their implications for science. He currently supervises graduate students and recruits a Research Assistant for this project. His recent articles address climate collapse frameworks, societal resilience, and the ethical dimensions of medical evidence in global health contexts.

His teaching focuses on philosophy of science and applied ethics. His research bridges philosophy and interdisciplinary science studies, advocating for transparent and value-aware scientific practices.