Why should we trust science or scientists? What is trust? Why is it important? What happens to science if it loses the public's trust? How does trust relate to the construction of knowledge (epistemology)?
Here's a big new report on this general topic (2 URLs below, hopefully one of them works). I don't expect you to read all of it, but maybe you could look at chapters 1 & 2 and comment on a few of the above questions based on your reading. Of course you would get an awesome huge gold star if you read the whole report!!
http://www.nap.edu/read/21798/chapter/1
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/21798/trust-and-confidence-at-the-interfaces-of-the-life-sciences-and-society?utm_source=NAP+Newsletter&utm_campaign=42c76b2551-NAP_mail_new_2015_10_05&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_96101de015-42c76b2551-103342677&goal=0_96101de015-42c76b2551-103342677&mc_cid=42c76b2551&mc_eid=d00652e07c
I believe that we should trust science and the scientists' findings in their research but with discretion. I believe that in order to truly learn something from someone else’s experiments, we must replicate them to better understand how the experiment was performed and why the specific result occurred. However, not all of us have materials and equipment such as a compound microscope or hydrochloric acid lying around to perform certain experiments, so in these cases I would understand why people trust in the research performed by scientists that have these resources available.
ReplyDeleteI define trust as a faith in someone or something based on who they are and what their background is. It also depends on what I am trusting them with. In reading the article, I found that my definition kind of related to Liz Neeley's definition used in the article:
"your willingness to embrace the advice of a group of strangers because you believe they (a) know the truth, (b) will tell you the truth as they know it; and (c) have your best interest at heart." all of which depend on “(d) who you are, (e) who they are, and (f) what you’re talking about.”
I believe that trust is important because when you think about it, trust is what humanity is built on. All of the activities we complete everyday rely on the trust of someone else. To demonstrate, every day when we get into our cars, we trust that all of the other drivers on the road are licensed, responsible drivers trained to avoid collisions with our cars, we trust that the construction workers who built the roads were certified and constructed the roads to the best of their abilities so we can travel to our destinations safely, and we trust that when we are in a collision or have some other kind of auto trouble, AAA or police officers will be available to assist us.
I believe that when the public loses trust in scientists, they are missing out on a lot of information. Trust is usually lost in science when research is corrected or when new advancements are revealed. This can be seen when nutritionists change their minds about what foods make up the best diet. Different perspectives can be gleamed from different nutritionists, but people must understand that there will never be a truly perfect diet for everyone and that any new information leads to a better understanding of what the body needs to survive. Even though a perfect conclusion may never be obtained, we should still pay attention to the discoveries being made to enhance our own knowledge of subjects.
I like the way that you worded everything Denise! I think the topic of trust also pertains to the theories that are falsifiable! Like we watched in class today, the string theory is not able to be proven or tested, yet scientists and people believe in this theory because how else is the universe supposed to make sense? We choose to trust in people and things that make sense yet some of it isn't even proven. But then when something is proven wether it be true or not this can either increase or decrease our trust!
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said Sarah. I also find it interesting that we believe in the scientist that think our universe is made up of strings of energy. Even though the scientist we not able to prove this we still believe them. I guess I believe them because they are putting the time and effort into researching the universe we live in and they have the most knowledge about it so I my swell believe them. Then again science is changing all the time so what makes one scientists theory strong or more believable than anthers. For example in the first elegant universe video, Einstein believed if the sun burst then the planets would immediately fly off the orbit of the universe. Maxwell believed that if the sun burst we would not feel it until the ripple hit the Earth and then it would move off the orbit. So each scientist has their own theory but how do we know which one is actually true and which one we should trust?
DeleteSarah, I also like the way Denise worded everything in her post! I also like what you said about how scientists and regular people believe in this for the soul purpose of being able to "think" the universe makes sense. String theory cannot be tested and therefor cannot be proven/disproven. I think people like to believe in this theory because we like to have somewhat of an idea about how we exist in this world and what else it out there. And Libbi, I like how you mentioned that Einstein and Maxwell, both extremely credible and reliable sources, have two completely different opinions about what would happen if the sun would burst. This is a really good example of how even today, scientists are no where near finding the truth about our universe.
DeleteWe should trust in science because it has been tested and gone through rigorous experiments to proof something right or effective. To become a scientist or a doctor, ect., it takes many years of education and career training to become an expert in the field, with that much knowledge under ones "belt" I would hope that I can trust in what they are telling me is true.
ReplyDeleteTrust is a combination of many things. It is believing in what is said. They article described it as a relationship "a set of expectations among groups". If I trust you, then I have faith that you will not let me down. It is a lot of give and take.
If we lose faith / trust in science then it won't used as much. Science loss it's credibility among society. This is a tough reality. Currently there is the argument with parents about vaccinating children. There is no scientific proof that vaccines cause autism or whatever else. That is people interpreting crazy ideas from celebrities or quake doctors. We can look at the individual vaccines to show their DNA make up and there is no correlation between vaccines and autism. Now on the other hand, some medicines might not be as effective because our bodies become resistant to medicines but that's a whole other story.
I agree with your point of view. There are many celebrities that make these wild inferences based off of irrelevant facts and I am literally sitting there thinking "So, where did you get your PhD?" It makes me so angry that people will just dismiss the countless studies performed by people who have worked incredibly hard to attain the knowledge they need to know in order to make contributions to science, which will be ignored in favor of some shiny entertainer that thinks they know what they are talking about. Ugh, so incredibly frustrating!
DeleteI totally agree with you Lauren! The population as a whole usually trust the scientists to be telling us the right information. We see these people who have incredible amounts of knowledge and degrees in the field of science, so do we really have a choice to believe them or not? Because some of the population don't have any knowledge about science and these people look up to and trust what these scientists say.
DeleteI believe that having the ability to trust is science is a very important thing. Most things that we take for granted in our daily lives are based on aspects of science that we take for granted. (Eg. Taking your car to work, using a microwave, or taking medications.) If we did not have a capacity to trust in science, it would be very hard to function. However, just because we trust in many aspects of science does not mean that we trust in all science immediately. I think that trust is something that is earned over time, and in the scientific field it is earned through repeated successful testing. It is important to distinguish between having a deep trust in something and blindly accepting it as the truth. Forming a deep trust through proven test cases is much different than accepting doctrine based on the credibility of the source alone.
ReplyDeleteI also believe that integrity in science is very important. If scientists or scientific theories lose the favor or trust of the public then it does not matter whether they are right or wrong. People will gravitate towards the theories of people that they consider trustworthy, and based on these theories they will construct their outlook and knowledge of the world around them.
I agree with you Tommy. It would be nearly impossible to make it through the day if we didn't have the trust that we do have in science. Although majority of us, including me, don't necessarily think about how much our trust in science plays a direct role in our everyday life. I also agree that our trust for science isn't something that is just there, especially for new findings and inventions.
DeleteI love what you said tommy, without trust in science we wouldnt know what to do with our lives. You wake up with immediate trust in science and we dont even realize it. Trust is something that is earned and science has done that over time and continues to do today. Our trust in science is what keeps us going everyday, it is what helps us get through out everyday routines and it is hard to even realize it until you really think about it.
DeleteI believe we have to trust in scientists or doctors, they are the most qualified to answer the questions we have or explain the unexplainable. Scientists are human, they are going to make mistakes, but these mistakes are almost always used in further research or better explanations. Trust in science is a something that is like trusting a diagnosis from a dr, the dr is obviously much more qualified in health then we are so we trust the dr to make the right diagnosis and treatment. In science we must trust the scientists to utilize what technologies we have available at the time and use their knowledge of science past and present to make a prediction or explanation for the future. there will never be 100% explanation to science as a whole because it is constantly changing and evolving, science must be the same way it must change and evolve as the world around us changes and evolves. We will never be right entirely and that must be accepted when putting trust into science, but we trust the science community to always strive to do its best.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Ford. Scientists and doctors are some of the people we have to trust the most because like you said they are the ones that can answer questions others can't and are able to explain the unexplainable. Scientists and doctors will rarely be 100% correct but even when they are not correct they still find answers and new ways to explain things from their mistakes.
DeleteI would agree with Ford and Sawyer here. Scientists and doctors are people that we put our trust in when it comes to important situations. When we are ill we go see a doctor, when we have questions, we would understand that a scientist would have the most informative answer because they have been studying a certain field their entire lives. They clearly know more then the average citizen. Doctors and scientists are our most trusted people in which we go to for important information even though we understand that they will not always be correct 100% of the time, they are still human. Just smart humans..
DeleteTrust is a key component of our everyday lives. We trust our food companies to produce clean healthy food, police officers to protect us in times of danger and fear and we should also trust scientists when it comes to gaining knowledge about their profession. They are qualified and have put the time into their studies to gain that trust from us. Trust is something that is hard to give and receive for many people.There is a reason why these scientists usually have 10 phd's in 10 different fields of science. Most of them are the creme of the crop, but we can always question them too! If scientists lose the trust of the public then their jobs are going to be extremely difficult. Their whole job runs off of trust, yeah there is physical evidence for whatever they discover, but they have to mentally get it thru people's minds in able to be credible.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Blake that trust is a key component of our everyday lives. The example he used was police officers are to protect us in times of danger. I believe that this trust has been lost because of the recent cases of police brutality. This is something we do not need to happen with science. If this happens then it will be hard for them to prove that what they have tested and experimented on is actually true.
DeleteI agree with Blake and Otis that trust is something that is part of our everyday lives and that it should never be taken for granted and is something that is hard to give and receive. once trust has been lost like with the officers for instance there is always a negative backlash for instance the police riots. Science is a place where we have to trust that scientists are working for the betterment of the world as a whole, once trust has been lost in that i believe this would cause complete mayhem through out the world. We must be able to trust the experts that what they are doing is right and motivated by the right things, good science in bad hands could essentially be the apocalypse.
DeleteI believe that we should have a trust in science. Science is very important in this world. For us to believe in all the discoveries and things that have been created with science I would have to have trust in it. I consider most scientist geniuses. Simply because I do not have the best understanding on how they find information or get certain information. It really amazes me. If we do not have science then we would be stuck we would not discover new things. If we lose the interest in the public then no one would care about how important science is in this world. We would not have an understanding of why or how things work. We would be lost. Even though al science is not necessarily true it can be re testable so we should not be blind and just assume everything that has been tested is right.
ReplyDeleteOT I agree with you that we should have a trust in science because there although there are many things in science that have yet to be 100% proven, there are also many things that are set in stone, which is what I enjoy learning about. I also agree that I dont understand how scientists can come up with the theories and discoveries they do just in their mind, which amazes me too.
DeleteI believe that science is important to the world. It helps us understand what is going on in the world around us and it also leads us to discoveries. We find cures in medicine, history of the world, and basic needs that we wouldn't even think of. I feel like if science lost the public trust it would be very difficult for the public to function. We use science to cook food due to all types of heat waves to allow us to eat food so we don't get diseases. Trusting scientist helps lead to knowledge. When we trust them we can learn from them and build on that knowledge. DNA was discovered through trusting and experimenting on previous scientific work. if we did not trust their work we could still be in the beginning of some scientific processes that we know so much about.
ReplyDeleteWe should trust scientists but we should never get complacent. Without trust in science there would be no progress. Repetiveness increases trust and the credibility of the scientists also come into play to increase or decrease trust. Without trusting science, scientists would have to start every experiment without any background because they don't trust the background previously formed by other scientists. Science just wouldn't work without trust. If science lost the publics trust, scientific progress would be hindered. With the publics trust come public interest and with public interest comes a growth of scientific study.
ReplyDeleteYou can't have science without trust, mainly because not everyone on this planet will go through the amount of schooling/research that requires you to be a qualified scientist to find out for yourself, no matter what the experiment/research may be. Trust is an extremely important thing in everyday life, we trust our colleges and professors and doctors are all the best of the best, therefore teaching the students that are to become scientists the best. We trust this because its been proven by actions day in and day out
ReplyDeleteTrust is something that is earned, and in my opinion, anyone who goes to school for as long as scientists go, and progresses the whole time, has earned trust. They have put in more work than most people so trusting them is something that comes easy to me. In terms that athletes would understand, a professional athlete would be trusted to give out advice on their sport to the public because of their experience. In my opinion, this is no different.
ReplyDeleteTrust is something one has in an ideology or a person that can sway how one feels. The beauty of science is that we do not have to trust it we can either disprove it or prove it because science cannot lie. Scientists on the other hand can lie and like an other humans want to advance themselves further in their lives so in my opinion scientists can only be trusted at face value.
ReplyDeleteBecause science does not have to be trusted it is hard for me to imagine what would happen if people were to lose faith in science on the other hand I can picture people losing their trust in scientists instead. In science the construction of knowledge is a process that includes a peer review of sorts in which other scientists review the work done by the one submitting the findings. There must be a trust factor in this process or no knew knowledge would ever be accepted in science.
These scientists dont just receive trust right from the get go, they earn it by going through years of school and giving their colleagues their steps of their experiments so they know that it is whatever it is. Science is trusted because it is proven with facts and theories that back them up, while other things that arent trusted, like certain religions are based off of beliefs mostly. Since science is falsifiable, it has to be somewhat trusted. You find the answer to an experiment and then that is trusted but if it is falsified then it is thrown away. I think that science being falsifiable is what makes it so easy to be trusted. I blindly trusted science before this class but now i know why i trust science and i think that people should gain this knowledge so they know what they are talking about when it comes to certain fields of science and philosophy.
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