A non-insignificant portion of the world population could be diagnosed as in a state of crisis when it comes of trusting empirical evidence and the advice of scientific institutions.
This can manifest in the form of anti-vaxers or other conspiracy theorists that base their beliefs on the core idea that certain institutions just can't be trusted and/or have a hidden harmful agenda.
This internal crisis makes extremely difficult to convince these people out of their beliefs because in theory any evidence could be falsified and facts can easily be lies.
This issue have tangible effects on the world. These issues have always been in the background but why are they more visible now?, what can we do to help this situation?, Can these people be reached in any way?, do they want to be reached?
I think that this is more of a sociological/ psychological issue and would like to know expert opinions
As scientists and scholars we should be able to consider these problems and process them even if there is no official recognition for them yet. A comprehensive study will be needed yes but I would like to see the perspectives that people in this platform might bring to the table. Specially if any of them have been able to regain the trust of their communities
If you repeat since almost 250 years that there is not absolute truth but anyone has 'his/her own truth' and what is important is the 'practical efficacy' of proposed recipes..soon or later someone starts to take you seriously.
The real problem is the lack of perception (fostered by governments and other powers that use science as 'instrumentum regni') of the partial and probabilistic character of science, it is exactly this character that makes science a 'never ending story' but popular science is presented as the definitive word. A physician working one hundred years ago was much more respected (and his suggestions trusted) than a nowadays physician even if nowadays physician has much more tools to be effective in curing diseases. But his progenitor was effectively 'taking care' of you (and anyone had no problems in admitting his/her limits), the nowaday physician is perceived as a technician that prefers to look at gene sequences of neuroimages instead of taking care of you..so it is obvious that people (me too) prefer the first one.
Decades of false promises of the 'magic bullet for cancer' or of 'the gene of schizofrenia' clearly did not ameliorate the situation.
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