Summary Chapter 1 PDF

Preview

Summary

Summary based on chapter 1 of a book talking about restoring ecology...

Description

Introduction and Chapter 1 Summary The book, Merchants of Doubt focuses on the the unethical practices of industries in order to further advertise their high-risk products to the public by fighting facts and through misinformation. The “Tobacco Strategy” began when companies were in need of finding a third party who would come out ot the public as unbiased, but behind covers would support the company’s claims by discrediting scientific evidence. This third party resulted from the original two standpoints of the issues: the standpoint of scientists whose finding about products followed the principles of peer review,  and the standpoint of the industries themselves. This allowed room for doubt because the third party representative had established credibility from their past experiments. For example, Seitz, Singer, Nirenberg, and Jastrow. These scientists served in science administration. They had the experience of press coverage and knew the little techniques on how to pressure the media, which eventually played in their favor when they began to discredit any science they did not like. In my opinion, the fact that people would defend companies for money even though there are many lives at risk is truly eye-opening and distressing. Since there are people like this in today’s world, this is why there are a myriad of people who don't believe in global warming and are contributing to it without knowing the facts. Its upsetting to know that so many scientists are being discredited because someone with authority can do so. The effectiveness of continuously fighting facts and hiding the truth makes me wonder if the cure to cancer or other diseases has been found and it's just been covered up. The first chapter depicts the forming of misinformation within tobacco industries to manipulate the public beginning with a meeting with Frederick Seitz. Seitz was known as one of “America’s most distinguished scientists”(10)1. Being well-known helped Seitz establish credibility, which he began to abuse; he not only chose projects to fund, but assisted in the tobacco industry find distracting research and became actively involved with it. This alternative way of survival to market their products survived for decades and is still in use. The bigger picture of this situation illustrates that money and credibility can take you only so far, far enough to create doubt in society. Due to the fact, that many scientists are credible, it's hard for people to not believe the articles and information being put online. The people who are unaware about certain topics will believe anything they hear as long as it is coming from a “scientist” or sounds “scientific.” Moreover, in 1967 it was reported that two thousand more scientific studies all pointed to three results, which was not in favor of the tobacco industry. Yet, the industry began to deny these facts and claimed that there was no scientific evidence that smoking cigarettes could cause a myriad of diseases: lung cancer, emphysema, cardiovascular disorder; therefore, this resulted in the industry having to attach warning labels. Also, another point made is the close-minded nature of some scientists. For example, Seitz “justified his increasing social and intellectual isolation by blaming others”(27) 2. Seitz being so secluded, drove him to become frustrated when people didn't see it “his way,” which lead to him fighting against his colleagues and supporting the tobacco industries. The unequal attention that some scientists face is due to the fact that “science isn't based on opinion, it's about evidence”(32) 3. Seitz and his colleagues were shut down when they tried to defend the industries, because they had no evidence to back it up. They began to draw conclusions that would hinder the work and careers of other scientists; however, they managed to get 1

Oreskes, Naomi, and Erik M. Conway. M  erchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming(Bloomsbury, 2012.) 2  erchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Oreskes, Naomi, and Erik M. Conway. M Global Warming(Bloomsbury, 2012.) 3 Oreskes, Naomi, and Erik M. Conway. M  erchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming(Bloomsbury, 2012.)

away with it because they had established their credibility. Yet, doubt still wonders around the science behind certain topics even if the scientists went through the process of experimentation, observation, critical review because people like Seitz have the ability to create doubt in society. However, doubt is what drives science even further. If a scientist were to come out with a statement which was either far-fetched or questionable, other scientists would look into and maybe discover something new. Moreover, “in science, something can be a statistical cause”(34) 4, this refers back to not stating that one thing causes another, but that it's more likely to happen or less likely to happen, which can also lead to guessing and doubt due to the little fraction of uncertainty. All in all, doubt will always be prevalent in scientific studies and articles.

4  reskes, Naomi, and Erik M. Conway. M O  erchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming(Bloomsbury, 2012.)...