O Insurgente

Outubro 17, 2007

Defender a ciência contra o eco-fanatismo

Filed under: Ambiente,Política,Religião,Teoria — André Azevedo Alves @ 18:38

Science is the pursuit of the truth, not consensus. Por John Kay.

Numbers are critical to democracy, but science is not a democracy. If an evangelical Christian converted all members of the Royal Society to creationism, that neither would nor should affect my belief in evolution. Most scientists know no more about climate change, HIV/Aids or the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine than do most lawyers, philosophers or economists, and it is not obvious who is better equipped to assess conflicting claims on these issues. Science is a matter of evidence, not what a majority of scientists think.

It is easy to see why the president of the Royal Society might want to elide that distinction, but in doing so he turns the organisation from a learned society into a trade union. Peer review is a valuable part of the apparatus of scholarship, but carries a danger of establishing self-referential clubs that promote each other’s work.

1 Comentário »

  1. “Science is the pursuit of the truth, not consensus.”

    ‘Nuff said… :)

    Comentário por ulaikamor — Outubro 17, 2007 @ 18:44


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