The Place of Facts in a World of Values: What is to be Done?

Abstract

Am I confusing fraud, the intent to misrepresent, with error, the inadvertent mistake which may occur during the normal practice of science? Doob (1984) suggests as much. As one anonymous reviewer for the Psychological Reports put it:

There are many scientists who adhere strongly to a particular theoretical position and simply ignore counter evidence. (How many times are unsuccessful experiments placed in ‘File 13’ but the one successful one submitted?). I am not condoning such a practice, but in some instances they are eventually proven right and in other instances proven wrong. In that sense, it is not a deliberate effort to deceive, it is the result of strongly held beliefs.