Scientific consensus

Scientific consensus is the collective judgment, position, and opinion of the community of scientists in a particular field of study. Consensus implies general agreement, though not necessarily unanimity.

Scientific consensus is not by itself a scientific argument, and it is not part of the scientific method. Nevertheless, consensus may be based on both scientific arguments and the judgment of the involved scientists. Consensus may be achieved through communication at conferences, the process of publication in academic journals, replication (reproducible results by others), and peer review. These lead to a situation in which those within the discipline can often recognize such a consensus where it exists, but communicating to outsiders that consensus has been reached can be difficult, because the 'normal' debates through which science progresses may seem to outsiders as contestation. On occasion, scientific institutes issue position statements intended to communicate a summary of the science from the "inside" to the "outside" of the scientific community. In cases where there is little controversy regarding the subject under study, establishing what the consensus is can be quite straightforward.

Scientific consensus may be invoked in popular or political debate on subjects that are controversial within the public sphere but which may not be controversial within the scientific community, such as evolution or the claimed linkage of MMR vaccinations and autism.

Scientific consensus and the public[edit | edit source]

The public often misunderstands scientific consensus, seeing it as a political style consensus. However, scientific consensus is not based on popularity of views, but on a rigorous and structured methodology. The public also often misunderstands that a scientific consensus can change. This is not because scientists are "changing their minds" but because new evidence can alter the understanding of a particular phenomenon.

Scientific consensus and policy making[edit | edit source]

Scientific consensus is often used in policy making. It is used by policy makers to make decisions and set policy directions. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is one example of how scientific consensus is used in policy making. The IPCC summarizes the scientific consensus on climate change and its effects, and this summary is used by policy makers worldwide to guide their decisions and policies.

References[edit | edit source]

Scientific consensus Resources
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