Are We All Scientific Experts Now?

To ordinary people, science used to seem infallible. Scientists were heroes, selflessly pursuing knowledge for the common good. More recently, a series of scientific scandals, frauds and failures have led us to question science’s pre-eminence. Revelations such as Climategate, or debates about the safety of the MMR vaccine, have dented our confidence in science. In this provocative new book Harry Collins seeks to redeem scientific expertise, and reasserts science’s special status. Despite the messy realities of day-to-day scientific endeavor, he emphasizes the superior moral qualities of science, dismissing the dubious “default” expertise displayed by many of those outside the scientific community. Science, he argues, should serve as an example to ordinary citizens of how to think and act, and not the other way round.

Figures and Tables page vi Introduction: The Growing Crisis of Expertise 1 1 Academics and How the World Feels 17 2 Experts 49 3 Citizen Sceptics 80 4 Citizen Whistle-blowers 103 Conclusion: Are We All Experts Now? 115 Notes 133 Bibliography 138 Index 142