Antiscience

=== {{visible anchor|Right-wing|Right-wing antiscience}} ===

=== {{visible anchor|Right-wing|Right-wing antiscience}} ===

The origin of antiscience thinking may be traced back to the reaction of [[Romanticism]] to the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], a movement often referred to as the [[Counter-Enlightenment]]. Romanticism emphasizes that intuition, passion, and organic links to nature are primal values and that rational thinking is merely a product of human life. Modern right-wing antiscience includes [[climate change denial]], [[Rejection of evolution by religious groups|rejection of evolution]], [[Transgender health care misinformation|misinformation about transgender healthcare]], and [[COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and hesitancy|misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines]].[http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/30/climate_act/index.html Joseph Romm, "Anti-science conservatives must be stopped", Salon.com, June 30, 2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216024037/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/30/climate_act/index.html |date=16 December 2008 }}{{cite book| author = Chris Mooney| title = The Republican War on Science| publisher = Basic Books| year = 2005| title-link = The Republican War on Science| author-link = Chris Mooney (journalist)}} While concentrated in areas of science that are seen as motivating government action, these attitudes are strong enough to make conservatives appreciate science less in general.{{cite journal |last1=Oreskes |first1=Naomi |author-link1=Naomi Oreskes |last2=Conway |first2=Erik M. |author-link2=Erik M. Conway |title=From Anti-Government to Anti-Science: Why Conservatives Have Turned Against Science |journal=Daedalus |date=15 November 2022 |volume=151 |issue=4 |pages=98–123 |doi=10.1162/daed_a_01946 |url=https://direct.mit.edu/daed/article/151/4/98/113706/From-Anti-Government-to-Anti-Science-Why|doi-access=free }}

The origin of antiscience thinking may be traced back to the reaction of [[Romanticism]] to the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], a movement often referred to as the [[Counter-Enlightenment]]. Romanticism emphasizes that intuition, passion, and organic links to nature are primal values and that rational thinking is merely a product of human life. Modern right-wing antiscience includes [[climate change denial]], [[Rejection of evolution by religious groups|rejection of evolution]], [[Transgender health care misinformation|misinformation about transgender healthcare]], [[Modern flat earth belief]], and [[COVID-19 vaccine misinformation and hesitancy|misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines]].[http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/30/climate_act/index.html Joseph Romm, "Anti-science conservatives must be stopped", Salon.com, June 30, 2008] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081216024037/http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2008/06/30/climate_act/index.html |date=16 December 2008 }}{{cite book| author = Chris Mooney| title = The Republican War on Science| publisher = Basic Books| year = 2005| title-link = The Republican War on Science| author-link = Chris Mooney (journalist)}} While concentrated in areas of science that are seen as motivating government action, these attitudes are strong enough to make conservatives appreciate science less in general.{{cite journal |last1=Oreskes |first1=Naomi |author-link1=Naomi Oreskes |last2=Conway |first2=Erik M. |author-link2=Erik M. Conway |title=From Anti-Government to Anti-Science: Why Conservatives Have Turned Against Science |journal=Daedalus |date=15 November 2022 |volume=151 |issue=4 |pages=98–123 |doi=10.1162/daed_a_01946 |url=https://direct.mit.edu/daed/article/151/4/98/113706/From-Anti-Government-to-Anti-Science-Why|doi-access=free }}

Characteristics of antiscience associated with the right include the appeal to [[conspiracy theories]] to explain why scientists believe what they believe,{{cite journal | author1 = Pascal Diethelm | author2 = Martin McKee | year = 2009 | title = Denialism: what is it and how should scientists respond? | journal = European Journal of Public Health | volume = 19 | issue = 1 | pages=2–4 | doi = 10.1093/eurpub/ckn139 | pmid=19158101| doi-access = free }} in an attempt to undermine the confidence or power usually associated to science (e.g., in [[Global warming conspiracy theory|global warming conspiracy theories]]). In modern times, it has been argued that right-wing politics carries an anti-science tendency. While some have suggested that this is innate to either rightists or their beliefs, others have argued it is a "quirk" of a historical and political context in which scientific findings happened to challenge or appeared to challenge the worldviews of rightists rather than leftists.Kerr, John Richard. "Why do we argue about science? Exploring the psychological antecedents of rejection of science." (2020), p. 26Lewandowsky, Stephan, and Klaus Oberauer. "Motivated rejection of science." Current Directions in Psychological Science 25, no. 4 (2016): 217–222 [220]

Characteristics of antiscience associated with the right include the appeal to [[conspiracy theories]] to explain why scientists believe what they believe,{{cite journal | author1 = Pascal Diethelm | author2 = Martin McKee | year = 2009 | title = Denialism: what is it and how should scientists respond? | journal = European Journal of Public Health | volume = 19 | issue = 1 | pages=2–4 | doi = 10.1093/eurpub/ckn139 | pmid=19158101| doi-access = free }} in an attempt to undermine the confidence or power usually associated to science (e.g., in [[Global warming conspiracy theory|global warming conspiracy theories]]). In modern times, it has been argued that right-wing politics carries an anti-science tendency. While some have suggested that this is innate to either rightists or their beliefs, others have argued it is a "quirk" of a historical and political context in which scientific findings happened to challenge or appeared to challenge the worldviews of rightists rather than leftists.Kerr, John Richard. "Why do we argue about science? Exploring the psychological antecedents of rejection of science." (2020), p. 26Lewandowsky, Stephan, and Klaus Oberauer. "Motivated rejection of science." Current Directions in Psychological Science 25, no. 4 (2016): 217–222 [220]