Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, United Kingdom.
Integr Psychol Behav Sci. 2023 Sep;57(3):878-887. doi: 10.1007/s12124-022-09691-7. Epub 2022 Apr 22.
Researchers claim impartiality when conducting research and suggest their motives are to improve knowledge. However, when investigating the history of research into obedience to authority, propaganda and power-knowledge are present as well as emotional ties that affect the motives and methods of investigating these areas. With published work from US President Woodrow Wilson proposing obeying authority is necessary to functional societies and the Vatican displaying power-knowledge when censoring heliocentric views, it seems some researchers have ulterior motives. Although researchers like Piaget and Milgram appear to be more integral researchers, Piaget like many utilised observational methods that lack replicability, and Milgram's family history with the events of the Holocaust pose additional issues. Therefore, considering the General Demarcation Problem, it is difficult to distinguish between science and pseudoscience, given all researchers will consider the research they conduct in the present day to be the correct way of doing so. However, adopting a critical mind as to who is conducting the research and the wider implications of who it serves and who it does not serve, would be beneficial for academia and wider society. This comes in a time where many reject the science of critical world issues such as COVID-19 and climate change.
研究人员在进行研究时声称自己秉持公正客观，并表示其动机是为了增进知识。然而，当研究权威服从、宣传和权力知识的历史时，情感联系也会影响到研究这些领域的动机和方法。美国伍德罗·威尔逊总统曾发表过一篇文章，提出服从权威对于功能性社会是必要的，而梵蒂冈在审查日心说观点时则表现出权力知识。因此，一些研究人员似乎有不可告人的动机。尽管像皮亚杰和米尔格拉姆这样的研究人员看起来更具整体性，但皮亚杰和许多人一样，使用了缺乏可重复性的观察方法，而米尔格拉姆的家族史与大屠杀事件也带来了额外的问题。因此，考虑到普遍的划界问题，很难区分科学和伪科学，因为所有研究人员都会认为他们在当下进行的研究是正确的研究方法。然而，对于进行研究的人以及研究服务的对象和不服务的对象有一个批判性的认识，对于学术界和更广泛的社会都是有益的。在这个时期，许多人拒绝接受 COVID-19 和气候变化等重要世界问题的科学。
