Scientific dissent is

dissent Dissent is an opinion, philosophy or sentiment of non-agreement or opposition to a prevailing idea or policy enforced under the authority of a government, political party or other entity or individual. A dissenting person may be referred to as ...

from scientific consensus. Disagreements can be useful for finding problems in underlying assumptions, methodologies, and reasoning, as well as for generating and testing new ways of tackling the unknown.de Melo‐Martín, I. and Intemann, K. (2013
"Scientific dissent and public policy"
''EMBO Reports'', 14 (3): 231–235. In modern times, with the increased role of science on the society and the

politicization of science The politicization of science for political gain occurs when government, business, or advocacy groups use legal or economic pressure to influence the findings of scientific research or the way it is disseminated, reported or interpreted. The pol ...

, a new aspect gained prominence: effects of scientific dissent on public policies. Scientific dissent is distinct from

denialism In the psychology of human behavior, denialism is a person's choice to denial, deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth. Denialism is an essentially irrational action that withholds the validation of a historical expe ...

, which is a deliberate rejection of scientific consensus usually for commercial or ideological reasons.

Dissent as part of scientific inquiry

Miriam Solomon Miriam Solomon is Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Philosophy Department as well as Affiliated Professor of Women's Studies at Temple University. Solomon's work focuses on the philosophy of science, social epistemology, medical epistemo ...

in her book ''Social Empiricism'' argues that scientific dissent is the normal state of

scientific inquiry Models of scientific inquiry have two functions: first, to provide a descriptive account of ''how'' scientific inquiry is carried out in practice, and second, to provide an explanatory account of ''why'' scientific inquiry succeeds as well as it ap ...

, rather than a conflict situation that needs resolution. She argues that disagreements of individual scientists about the proper direction of research are not cause for concern, because scientific rationality must be assessed at the level of the scientific community. As long as all theories being pursued yield some unique empirical successes, Solomon argues that their pursuit is worthwhile and even consistent with the common view that science aims at truth. In Solomon's view, competing scientific theories can even be inconsistent with one another while each containing some degree of truth. Empirical evidence may not be sufficient to distinguish between competing theories, and successful theories often have core assumptions that are incorrect.

Historical scientific dissent

A number of famous scientists have been sceptical of what were, or came to be, mainstream scientific positions. For example, Ernst Mach famously declared in 1897: "I don't believe that atoms exist!"

Wilhelm Ostwald Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald (; 4 April 1932) was a Baltic German chemist and philosopher. Ostwald is credited with being one of the founders of the field of physical chemistry, with Jacobus Henricus van 't Hoff, Walther Nernst, and Svante Arrhen ...

expressed a similar scepticism about atoms, but changed his mind in 1908. In the early 20th century,

peptic ulcer Peptic ulcer disease (PUD) is a break in the inner lining of the stomach, the first part of the small intestine, or sometimes the lower esophagus. An ulcer in the stomach is called a gastric ulcer, while one in the first part of the intestines ...

s were believed to be caused by stress and dietary factors. The physicians

Robin Warren John Robin Warren (born 11 June 1937, in Adelaide) is an Australian pathologist, Nobel Laureate and researcher who is credited with the 1979 re-discovery of the bacterium ''Helicobacter pylori'', together with Barry Marshall. The duo proved ...

and

Barry Marshall Barry James Marshall (born 30 September 1951) is an Australian physician, Nobel Prize Laureate in Physiology or Medicine, Professor of Clinical Microbiology and Co-Director of the Marshall Centre at the University of Western Australia. Mars ...

showed in 1982 that the bacterium ''

Helicobacter pylori ''Helicobacter pylori'', previously known as ''Campylobacter pylori'', is a gram-negative, microaerophilic, spiral (helical) bacterium usually found in the stomach. Its helical shape (from which the genus name, helicobacter, derives) is thoug ...

'' was responsible, but the medical community was slow to make appropriate changes in ulcer treatment.

Suppressed dissent

Scientific debate is a healthy and necessary part of science, but scientific debate may collide with power dynamics within the academic world.Delborne, J.A. (2016) "Suppression and Dissent in Science". In: Tracey Ann Bretag (Ed) ''Handbook of Academic Integrity'', 64: 943–956. Springer. . Suppression of legitimate scientific debate can be considered as a breach of academic integrity. Examples of suppression include journal editors rejecting a paper for political reasons prior to peer-review, refusing access to data for research which might draw negative conclusions about the safety of some commercial product, and putting pressure on a university to fire a dissenting researcher.

False scientific dissent

In modern times proponents of science denialism,

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable clai ...

, and

conspiracy theories A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable.Additional sources: * * * * The term has a nega ...

often try to disguise their viewpoints as "scientific dissent" to take an advantage of the benefit of doubt. Such cases are typically recognized by lack of crucial elements of scientific approach: insufficient evidence base, lack of rigor and control, etc."Keeping Modern Myths And Conspiracy Theories At Bay"
April 7, 2014, ''Asian Scientist Magazine'' Lack of discussion of claims coming from

fringe science Fringe science refers to ideas whose attributes include being highly speculative or relying on premises already refuted. Fringe science theories are often advanced by persons who have no traditional academic science background, or by researchers ...

may be presented as suppression by mainstream science. This was described as "manufacturing dissent" and discussed in the context of neo-creationism. In the introduction to ''Creating Scientific Controversies'', David Harker summarizes the history of how the tobacco industry worked towards manufacturing a controversy regarding the health effects of tobacco. In what is sometimes known as the " Galileo gambit", pseudoscientists will sometimes compare themselves to Galileo, arguing that opposition from established scientists is actually a point in favour of their ideas.

Jean Paul Van Bendegem Jean Paul Van Bendegem (born 28 March 1953 in Ghent) is a mathematician, a philosopher of science, and a professor at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Brussels. Career Van Bendegem received his master's degree in mathematics in 1976. Afterwards ...

writes that "No doubt the most famous example of mistaken analogy is the abuse of Galileo Galilei's case resulting in his conviction by the Holy Inquisition. The basic strategy consists of equating Galileo with the poor astrologer or parapsychologist and equating the Inquisition with the scientific establishment."

Effect on modern public policies

Views which disagree with scientific consensus may have an adverse effect on the perception of science by general public and affect decision making in various policies. When prominently promoted without due proportion, dissenting views can create an impression of uncertainty to laypeople. Common examples of such situation include global warming controversy and issues of

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

and genetically modified organisms. Therefore, scientists treat scientific dissent as problematic when it may have a significant impact on public and policy-making, and try to mitigate it.Aklin, M. and Urpelainen, J. (2014
"Perceptions of scientific dissent undermine public support for environmental policy"
''Environmental Science & Policy'', 38: 173–177. Inmaculada de Melo-Martín and Kristen Intemann criticize three major strategies in battling allegedly dangerous scientific dissent: masking the dissent, silencing the dissent, and discrediting the dissenters. Melo-Martin and Intermann argue that these strategies come from a misdiagnosis: the real problem is not dissent, but public scientific illiteracy. Rather than focusing on dissent, scientists must concentrate on educating the general public, so that people could make educated opinions and recognize false claims and invalid arguments. They further argue that silencing dissent rather than promoting literacy incurs the risk of undermining the public trust in science.

Sheila Jasanoff Sheila Sen Jasanoff is an Indian American academic and significant contributor to the field of Science and Technology Studies. In 2021 she was elected to the American Philosophical Society. Her research has been recognized with many awards, includ ...

, in the context of

climate change In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to ...

, mentions a common argument that public opinion is poorly informed because

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry or the oil patch, includes the global processes of exploration, extraction, refining, transportation (often by oil tankers and pipelines), and marketing of petroleum products. The large ...

manufactures uncertainties and the media exaggerate the dissent, but argues that it is insufficient for the understanding of the problem. She writes that studies of scientific controversies show that credibility of science depend not only on strong scientific consensus, but also on the persuasive power of those who speak for science, especially in the situations of controversy.Sheila Jasanoff, "Cosmopolitan Knowledge:

Climate Science Climatology (from Greek , ''klima'', "place, zone"; and , '' -logia'') or climate science is the scientific study of Earth's climate, typically defined as weather conditions averaged over a period of at least 30 years. This modern field of stu ...

and Global Civic

Epistemology Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Epis ...

", in: ''The Oxford Handbook of Climate Change and Society'', 2011,

References

Further references

* Bechler, Z. (1974
"Newton's 1672 optical controversies: a study in the grammar of scientific dissent"
In: Yehuda Elkana and Samuel Sambursky (eds), ''The Interaction Between Science and Philosophy''. Humanities Press. . * Delborne, J.A. (2008
"Transgenes and transgressions: Scientific dissent as heterogeneous practice"
''Social Studies of Science'', 38 (4): 509–541. * Intemann, K. and de Melo-Martín, I. (2014) "Are there limits to scientists’ obligations to seek and engage dissenters?". ''Synthese'', 191 (12): 2751–2765. * Martin, B. (2008
"Enabling scientific dissent"
''New Doctor'', (88): 2–5. * Martin, B. (2012
"Breaking the siege: guidelines for struggle in science"
In: P. Banks, D. Lunney and C. Dickman (eds) ''Science Under Siege: Zoology Under Threat'', pp. 164–170. * Maguire, R. (2007
"Scientific dissent amid the United Kingdom government's nuclear weapons programme"
''History Workshop Journal'', 63 (1): 113–135). * Shulman, S (2008
''Undermining Science: Suppression and Distortion in the Bush Administration''
University of California Press. . {{Science and technology studies Scientific method Dissent