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40 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 237 (2021-2022)
Trust in Science: The Crisis of Expertise as an Ideological, and Not Only a Scientific, Controversy

handle is hein.journals/qlr40 and id is 253 raw text is: TRUST IN SCIENCE: THE CRISIS OF EXPERTISE AS AN IDEOLOGICAL, AND NOT ONLY A SCIENTIFIC, CONTROVERSY David S. Caudill* Within the so-called culture wars dividing our nation politically, there is a law-related division over the trustworthiness of consensus science-the so-called crisis of expertise. When the science concerning climate change, mask-wearing, or vaccinations becomes politicized, it loses its mooring in scientific evidence and impacts the effectiveness of regulatory law. Perhaps counter-intuitively, however, the solution is likely not to wear Because Science t-shirts while insisting on cold, hard facts and diagnosing as stupid those who believe the scientific theories of marginalized, minority-view scientists. Indeed, a certain level of modesty-regarding the uncertainties and tentativeness of even the best science-is necessary for the type of understanding and communication that might convince someone to change their scientific beliefs. Unfortunately, the reaction of some scholars to the crisis of expertise is to unwittingly idealize science by identifying an anti-science ideology in certain segments of the citizenry while easily ignoring the ideological, almost religious, aspects of both sides in the crisis of expertise. Indeed, the arrogance of those who believe consensus scientists (a group to which I belong) probably increases distrust of established science. The purpose of this essay is to explain the need for humility and understanding in policy disputes on the part of those who believe in consensus science. I first acknowledge the difficulty of useful discourse Professor and Goldberg Family Chair in Law, Villanova University Widger School of Law. The author is grateful for the critical comments (in response to an earlier version of this paper) made by participants in the Feb. 12, 2021, international workshop on expertise sponsored by The Centre of the Study of Knowledge, Expertise and Science (KES), a research group based in the Cardiff School of Social Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales. The author also thanks Dr. Damn Durant, University of Melbourne, for his helpful insights on Wittgenstein's later philosophy. 237

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