Description The lack of Public support for climate change policies and refusals to vaccinate children are just two alarming illustrations of the impacts of dissent about scientific claims.
She is the author of Ret.
She has published extensively on those topics in both philosophy and science journals.
Her research focuses on ethical and epistemological issues related to biomedical sciences and technologies. in Biology.
S.
She holds as Ph D in Philosophy and an M.
About the Author Inmaculada de Melo-MartÃn is professor of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medicine.
This, the authors argue, is the best way forward, rather than diagnosing the many instances of wrong-headed dissent.
It shows that a richer understanding of the context in which science operates is needed to disarm problematic dissent and those who deploy it.
The Fight Against Doubt proposes that progress on this front can best be achieved by enhancing the trustworthiness of the scientific community and by being more realistic about the limits of science when it comes to policymaking.
Indeed, as de Melo-Mart n 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.
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.
To criticize dissent is, however, a fraught exercise.
Deployed aggressively and to political ends, some dissent can intimidate scientists, stymie research, and lead both the Public and policymakers to oppose important Public policies firmly rooted in science.
Even more dangerously, it has begun to corrode the very authority of scientific consensus and knowledge.
Dissent can lead to confusion, false beliefs, and widespread Public doubt about highly justified scientific evidence.
Description The lack of Public support for climate change policies and refusals to vaccinate children are just two alarming illustrations of the impacts of dissent about scientific claims
