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06-21-2014 02:13 AM |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Glenzig
(Post 1505002)
Doesn't answer the question. I'm not disputing the scientific method. I'm saying that scientists can be just as likely to have an agenda as anyone else. They're still human after all. The scientific method can be bypassed or pushed to the side in lieu of an agenda. Its certainly happened before.
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Of course scientists have/will continue to be subject to the same faults and biases the rest of us have. But at least the medium they are using to further their own agenda has built in self correcting mechanisms to account for human nature. A big part of the scientific method is identifying flaws in the methodology that lead to researcher bias, even when they themselves are unaware it's taking place. Double blinding in medical trials for instance. Science is certainly not a perfect system but I am unaware of a better way to evaluate truth claims at this point in time.
An example of the point I believe you are trying to make would be Lysenkoism (Lysenkoism is used metaphorically to describe the manipulation or distortion of the scientific process as a way to reach a predetermined conclusion as dictated by an ideological bias, often related to social or political objectives) which was based on the faulty Lamarckian hypothesis known as the inheritance of acquired characteristics, which while popular, and supported by the soviet union, had the unfortunate side effect of being incorrect and caused the science of genetics in russia to stagnate and fall significantly behind the west continuing even to the modern era.
So I agree with you to the extent that science can be bastardized to further a personal or political objective (vaccines and autism, the tobacco industry and lung cancer research) the methodology and principles of science will eventually bare out the facts, since the object of hypothesis testing is to disprove your hypothesis, not support it.
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