The Fight Against Doubt

Datos Bibliográficos

ID19982006
AutoresInmaculada De Melo-Martín (0000-0001-8656-8497), Kristen Intemann (0000-0003-0532-5771)
Año2018
Fecha de publicación2018-10-17
Open AccessNo
TipoBOOK
RevistaThe Fight Against Doubt (SOURCE_BOOK)
EditorialOxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1093/oso/9780190869229.001.0001
OpenAlexW2896924267
ISBN9780190869229
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas50

Current debates about climate change or vaccine safety provide an alarming illustration of the potential impacts of dissent about scientific claims. False beliefs about evidence and the conclusions that can be drawn from it are commonplace, as is corrosive doubt about the existence of widespread scientific consensus. Deployed aggressively and to political ends, ill-founded dissent can intimidate scientists, stymie research, and lead both the public and policymakers to oppose important policies firmly rooted in science. To criticize dissent is, however, a fraught exercise. Skepticism and fearless debate are key to the scientific process, making it both vital and incredibly difficult to characterize and identify dissent that is problematic in its approach and consequences. Indeed, as de Melo-Martín and Intemann show, the criteria commonly proposed as means of identifying inappropriate dissent are flawed, and the strategies generally recommended to tackle such dissent are not only ineffective but could even make the situation worse. The Fight against Doubt proposes that progress on this front can best be achieved by enhancing the trustworthiness of the scientific community and being more realistic about the limits of science when it comes to policymaking. It shows that a richer understanding is needed of the context in which science operates so as to disarm problematic dissent and those who deploy it in the pursuit of their goals

Context (archaeology) · Dissent · Epistemology · Law and economics · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Scientific evidence · Scientific progress · Skepticism · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · History · Law · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Philosophy