Politics and Science in the Laetrile Controversy

Bibliographic Data

ID11923939
AuthorsJames C Petersen (corresponding author), Gerald E Markle
Year1979
Volume9
Issue2
Pages139-166
Publication date1979-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Studies of Science (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0306-3127 • E-ISSN: 1460-3659
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/030631277900900201
PMID11610819
OpenAlexW2097097162
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited6

In an analysis of the dispute between the proponents of Laetrile and those opposing the substance, the Impact of both knowledge and value factors is explored. First, six related knowledge disputes are considered, with an emphasis on the difficulties of conflict resolution. It is suggested that when Laetrile supporters failed to obtain a favourable adjudication within the scientific community, they expanded the scope of the conflict through the use of the courts, state legislatures, and the freedom of choice appeal Government regulatory bodies and leading members of the American medical commumty have tried to limit the scope of the conflict through claims of specialized knowledge and expertise. Fmally, the concept of 'adjudication' is introduced to place the Laetrile dispute in an intellectual context which emphasizes the role of both knowledge and value factors in scientific controversies

Adjudication · Appeal · Context (archaeology · Dispute resolution · Government (linguistics · Law and economics · Legislature · Political science · Politics · Scope (computer science · Social science · Sociology · Sociology of scientific knowledge · State (computer science · Value (mathematics · Law · Research, Science, and Academia

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