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Accepted manuscript

Science Without Trust?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 August 2025

Edouard Machery*
Affiliation:
Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
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Abstract

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It is often said that successful scientific research must be built on trust. Focusing on the alleged necessity of trust for successful scientific communication and thus for scientific cooperation (which underlies much of contemporary science), I argue that science mustn’t be built on trust. Appearances to the contrary come from a failure to distinguish different attitudes toward scientists’ testimony, in particular trusting and relying on other scientists. This article proposes an account of scientific reliance and explains how it differs from scientific trust; it also shows why this distinction matters for science.

Information

Type
Contributed Paper
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Philosophy of Science Association