It’s possible to change the mind of someone who holds views that aren’t backed up by scientific evidence, according to science philosopher Lee McIntyre.
Science denialism comes in many forms: climate change deniers, people who are anti-vaxxers, who believe COVID is a hoax, that evolution isn’t real, and who think the Earth is flat.
With the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change creating huge challenges for humanity, denying science has never been so dangerous.
So, what can you do if that science denier is someone you care about — or maybe even someone in your family?
McIntyre, a research fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science at Boston University, decided to explore this topic in a new book titled, How to Talk to a Science Denier: Conversations with Flat Earthers, Climate Deniers, and Others Who Defy Reason.
McIntyre spoke to Quirks & Quarkshost Bob McDonald about how science deniers construct and defend their beliefs with evidence-based insights into how to change their minds.
Here is part of their conversation.
You write in your book that there’s a common script behind all science denial reasoning, and that if we know the script, we can change it. So, what is the script?
This script was discovered by Mark and Chris Hoofnagle, and it was developed further by John Cook and Stephen Lewandowsky, who are cognitive scientists and it goes like this: there are five tropes of science denial reasoning.
Every science denier cherry picks data, believes in conspiracy theories, engages in illogical reasoning, relies on fake experts and denigrates real experts, and here’s my favourite: that science has to be perfect in order to be credible.
Now, if you understand that script, you’re way ahead of the game.