Abstract
While dissent is key to successful science, it is clear that it is not
always beneficial. By requiring scientists to respond to objections,
epistemically detrimental dissent (EDD) consumes resources that could be
better devoted to furthering scientific discovery. Moreover, bad-faith
dissent can create a chilling effect on certain lines of inquiry and
make settled controversies seem open to debate. Such dissent results in
harm to scientific progress and the public policy that depends on this
science. While Biddle and Leuschner propose four criteria that draw on
inductive risk as a method for separating this EDD from beneficial
dissent, de Melo-Martín and Intemann reject this approach for failing to
capture paradigmatic instances of EDD. Against de Melo-Martín and
Intemann’s objections, I propose the inductive risk account can be saved
and strengthened through the following modifications: 1) removing the
requirement that the four conditions of EDD be jointly satisfied, 2)
requiring that each criterion be measured as a matter of degree rather
than as a binary, and 3) requiring that the four criteria are measured
holistically. These modifications not only mitigate the criticisms but
produce five benefits over Biddle and Leuschner’s account, including: 1)
capturing paradigmatic instances of EDD, 2) reflecting the degree to
which an instance of EDD is problematic, 3) capturing the interactions
between criteria, 4) avoiding legitimizing inappropriate dissent, and 5)
reflecting changes to the epistemic standing of dissent. As such, I
argue that the modified IndRA provides a powerful tool for identifying
EDD and strengthening science.