Wow... excellent blog post RE: vaccination/skepticism

[trotsky]

Some great overall comments related to the discussions we've had lately about what exactly constitutes "skepticism" (here as it pertains to medical issues). Also some timely commentary on falling vaccination rates due to anti-vax insanity if you follow the link.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=436

There is a great deal of overlap between such attitudes toward vaccines and those of some alternative medicine proponents. Such attitudes do not reflect true skepticism, which is based upon a respect for logic and evidence. Rather it appears to be a countercultural philosophy - the rejection of ideas not because they lack value but because they represent the mainstream.

This is a knee-jerk “tradition = bad, conventional wisdom = worse” reflex which does not serve these parents or their children well. It is also, I should point out, a logical fallacy - a type of ad hominem reasoning that claims that conventional wisdom is wrong simply because it’s conventional.

Mack-Fett also gives the “empowerment” argument, popular among the promoters of so-called alternative medicine. This is a populist fallacy that counsels the rejection of expert consensus regarding the complexities of science and evidence and tells parents to rely instead on their own knowledge. Of course, this is often being counseled by those who are simultaneously giving gross misinformation.

To be clear, I think that adults should have the right to make health decisions for themselves, and they have a limited right to make decisions for their children (until it conflicts with the state’s duty to protect children from abuse and neglect). Freedom is not the issue. The issue is whether or not it is good practice to pay appropriate consideration to the careful and transparent recommendations from experts or instead to rely upon dubious sources or the vagaries of information on the internet.

[TZ]

1. Interesting.

Also the rejection of authoritarism is part of this anti-vaxx movement..The idea that a parent knows whats best for their children despite all scientific evidence. I can't tell you how many times I've been accused of being unable to speak on these matters because I "don't have children"...:eyes:

[trotsky]

2. Hell, even for those of us who do have kids...

somehow our innate parental instincts to trust those who have studied an issue extensively over a Youtube video or a poorly-formatted GeoCities webpage don't mean a thing.

[Orrex]

3. Way to buy into the status quo

That attitude will surely turn your kids into Epsilons before you know it.