Abstract
Public trust in science is eroding because of a number of conflicts. In the sphere of climate science and of nutrition science, a basic methodological difference between scientists has escalated into what can be called wars. These wars are the result of influences such as personalities of leading scientists and powerful commercial and political interests. The wars have escalated to such an extent that leading scientists are being threatened with legal action and disciplinary procedures for advocating divergent views. These legal processes are not primarily about the procedural aspects of their actions, but are couched as being ‘about the science’. This means that legal processes are being used to ‘settle’ the science – something that the law has never been required to do. This new role for law has implications for legal education and requires that lawyers become more capable to understand empirical research.
Highlights
that should be normal in science
the inevitable result seems to be silencing of the opposition in what Teicholz calls the ‘surprising lack
Science turns into a ‘political battlefield
Summary
It is no secret that science is in trouble. More precisely, science is in trouble in terms of the public’s perception of science. Recently two other topics have become as likely to cause arguments, especially if there are sceptics present These are climate change (or global warming) and nutrition (especially discussions about fat). In climate science, the debate has gone from being one about simple and small methodological differences to a situation where to voice a dissenting opinion might land a scientist in jail or sued for defamation, with all the cost and potential consequences attached This has huge implications for the role of law. As is the case in the climate wars, scientists from various disciplines study nutrition and they include medical doctors, nutritionists, statisticians, exercise specialists and analysts That opens the door for a debate about the scientific correctness of a position – something very new in law and legal proceedings
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