ib theory of knowledge ea: disagreement between experts in a discipline

Given access to the same facts, how is it possible that there can be disagreement between experts in a discipline? Develop your answer with reference to two areas of knowledge.

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If experts within the same discipline disagree, how can one ascertain which argument

should be considered knowledge? The investigation will center on natural science and ethics, and

reason, emotion, and intuition as ways of knowing. Experts are people with a great depth of

knowledge in their discipline. Disagreements do not have to be completely opposite arguments,

but any nuanced differences in beliefs. The title assumes that experts have access to all the same

facts, but this may be unrealistic in disciplines such as ethics because each knower may have

different personal knowledge. This also questions to what extent does the existence of debate

within a discipline increase the scope of knowledge. In most cases, the discrepancies between

cases can be attributed to differences in intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

In ethics, arguments arise due to differences in extrinsic factors. Usually, in the discipline

of law, they result from political affiliation, and these differences result in a greater

understanding. Legislators can make the best decision possible because they can consider

diverse opinions. Within the discipline of law, an expert is anyone who is involved in the issue

and tries to acquire more knowledge about the issue. In 2016, Republicans within the United

States Senate wanted to pass a bill that would prevent states from requiring “Genetically

Modified Organism” (GMO) labels on food, but the Senate rejected the bill . Using reason, the 1

Republicans, who tend to support business, thought that from a utilitarian standpoint, requiring

labels on GMOs would disrupt the American economy. Because food retailers sell

$6,000,000,000 of food annually, the requirement to repackage food may cause economic 2

1Godoy, Maria. "Bill Blocking GMO Labels Stalls In Senate, But Battle Is Far From Over." NPR. NPR, 16 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 Dec. 2016. 2 Wilson, Jamar. "Topic: Food Retail Industry." Www.statista.com. N.p., 20 Sept. 2016. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.



problems, especially for smaller businesses. Democratic senate members believed the bill

shouldn't be passed because of a moral duty for businesses to be transparent with the public,

similar to Kantian ideology. Emotion may have affected Democratic senate members because

they may have felt that maintaining the trust of the public matters more than economic

consequences. Moreover, in 2016, Ed Hernandez, chair of United States health committee and

member of California Senate, introduced a bill to the California Senate which would censure the

company Mylan, which recently dramatically increased the price of emergency injection devices

for allergic reactions . According to utilitarianism, he argues that legislation that punishes Mylan 3

will make the device available to people with different socioeconomic backgrounds. As a

Democrat, Hernandez may be inclined to agree with a decision that would prove to be more

beneficial to “common” people over business people. Because he represents a district in

California that has a large impoverished Hispanic population, emotion may have influenced him

to give preference to people in his district to give them increased access. Other California senate

members argued that allowing Mylan to choose their prices results in greater profit, which can be

used to create more jobs, improving the economy. California Senator of a different district Ted

Gaines may have wanted to reject the bill because he was a former business owner so he knew

how interference in businesses can affect economy.

While having different perspectives allows for a more informed decision, the outcome is

not always positive. Legislators use intuition to envision the outcomes of the law, but the actual

outcomes can be different than expected, as the public may respond differently than intentioned.

In Mexico City, a law was passed in 1989 that banned cars on certain days of the week based on

3 "State Senator Introduces Resolution to Condemn EpiPen Price Hikes." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.



the last number of their license plate . Originally members of the Assembly of Representatives of 4

Mexico City disagreed. Supporters of the law claimed that this would help the environment;

opponents thought that this would create inconvenience for drivers. The law intended to reduce

air pollution; however, the air pollution worsened. As the previous critics pointed out, people in

Mexico City simply bought multiple cars to get around the law, proving that although the

original disagreement acknowledged the possible consequence, it did not lead to a better

outcome.

In addition to factors such as political affiliation causing disagreements within law, using

emotion, differences in experts’ backgrounds may cause disputes. In California in 2016, the

FAIR Education Act introduced LGBT historical characters into the K-12 statewide framework . 5

Because it was made in California, a significant reason for its passing is due to the diversity in

California. Mark Leno who worked on the bill was the first openly gay member of the state

senate which probably influenced his opinion. People such as Pastor Thompson of the Southern

Missionary Baptist Church, who fought the act were influenced by religion which condemns

homosexuality, showing the influence of background.

Lawmakers can attempt to remove their bias when making decisions. In the United States

ruling of Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion, the decision was passed despite justices’

conservative backgrounds . Chief Justice Burger voted in favor of abortion rights despite his 6

affiliation with the Republican party, which generally views abortion as unethical. However, as a

4 Guthrie, Amy. "Mexico City Doubles Driving Ban as Pollution Persists." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 06 Apr. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016. 5 "When Historians Help Make History: California's Groundbreaking New K-12 Framework." When Historians Help Make History: California's Groundbreaking New K-12 Framework. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016. 6 "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court Case and Opinions." Findlaw. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.



justice, his job was to interpret existing law and previous cases in order to make a determination

in Roe v. Wade instead of solely evaluating the morality of abortion.

While lawmakers intend to remain unbiased, one can never be truly unbiased as

subconsciously, who one is as a person affects their decisions. Compensating for possible bias,

one may become prejudiced when trying to compensate for their background. Prejudice does not

take away from the value of disagreements. By having groups with different biases, one can

better understand the problem. Both differing political affiliations and backgrounds improves the

comprehensiveness of lawmaking.

Disagreements in biology in natural science may arise due to differences in motivation

for experts’ conclusions. Because conclusions are reached through empirical data, experts

consider there to be one true answer. Disagreement in natural sciences may decrease the

certainty of a discipline. In biology, experts disagree whether talc is a carcinogen. In 2016,

during a trial involving the prosecution of Johnson & Johnson company, Dr. Daniel W. Cramer,

lead author of a study to link talc usage with ovarian cancer, was paid by the plaintiff in

exchange for testimony against the company . Dr. Cramer’s conclusion may be due to desire to 7

gain prestige by being first to discover the supposed link. Since he was paid by the plaintiff, this

may have influenced him to interpret talc as harmful due to his employer’s opinions. Rather than

definitively declare talc to be safe or dangerous, the International Agency for Research on

Cancer (IARC) says that talc could be carcinogenic, but remains uncertain. The IARC’s decision

may be due to trying to remain neutral on controversial issues, as not to lose credibility if the

claim is discredited, and the disagreement may create unnecessary worry for users of talc. In

7 Mulcahy, Nick. "Talc Powder, Ovarian Cancer Link: What Is the Evidence?" Medscape. N.p., 25 Feb. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.



addition, Stephen Jay Gould believed the evolutionary concept of punctuated equilibrium, while

Richard Dawkins believed in gradualism . While both biologists agreed evolution occurs, their 8

disagreement makes the mechanism of evolution more uncertain. Both wanted to gain fame by

being correct. Consequently, believers in creationism cite the disagreement as a reason for

invalidation of evolution overall, suggesting that disagreement within biology leads to confusion.

While disagreements within science may momentarily create uncertainty, without

disagreements, how can knowledge within science be proven? Falsification encourages scientists

to prove scientific knowledge wrong in order to find the truth. Prior to Louis Pasteur, biologists

believed that organisms could spontaneously generate. This idea went against what was believed

at the time, but opposition led to true knowledge, demonstrating the value of disagreement in

biology.

While certain theories are completely rejected by the scientific community, disagreement

still results in uncertainty, especially in areas of the world that have limited access to

information. Although experts in biology almost unanimously agree that HIV leads to AIDS, a

handful of scientists disagree. Peter Duesberg, a cell biologist claims that AIDS is caused by

recreational drug use and sexual promiscuity, and HIV is a passenger virus, despite access to

data that disproves this . As a result, President Thabo Mbeki of South Africa and other biologists 9

in South Africa were sympathetic to denialists which led to a slow governmental response to the

country’s AIDS epidemic . Even though there was evidence that disproved Duesberg’s 10

8 Miguel, James. "Gould vs Dawkins: On Evolution." Newsvine. N.p., 7 Aug. 2006. Web. 12 Dec. 2016. 9 Duesberg, Peter. "HIV & AIDS - AIDS Epidemiology; Inconsistencies with HIV and with Infectious Disease." Virus Myth. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 229 Stanley Hall University of California, Berkeley, 11 Oct. 1990. Web. 29 Dec. 2016. 10 The New York Times. "Thabo Mbeki and AIDS." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2001. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.



hypothesis and the scientific community condemned him, his denial created uncertainty within

non-experts and ultimately led to harm. Duesberg’s disagreement may arise from his desire to

gain notoriety as a result of his dissent. In doing this, Duesberg gains attention from people both

inside and outside of the biology community.

However, having limited access to information does not always result in negative

consequences. In areas such as Paraguay where indigenous culture is prevalent, people adhere to

indigenous diets . Health experts in these countries and in western countries agree that 11

indigenous diets may help fight modern diseases, proving that a lack of access to knowledge

does not always impact disagreement.

In natural science, disagreement within disciplines only leads to positive effects if the

dispute is resolved. While shared knowledge among the experts may indicate one belief, the

personal knowledge of a single expert may lead them to ignore available data. In the scientific

community alone, experts find disagreement to be beneficial because it allows them to disprove

theories, but in the lay community it may simply lead to confusion.

Overall, a multitude of extrinsic and intrinsic factors lead to disputes between experts.

While in ethics, disagreement allows an issue to be understood from different perspectives, in

natural science, it usually leads to uncertainty. Disagreements between experts affects the public

in that they are influenced by the experts’ arguments. However, they can also increase the depth

of knowledge within a discipline but may depend on the situation.

Word Count: 1595

11 IRIN. "Indigenous Diets Can Help Fight Modern Illnesses, Say Health Experts."Guardian Development Network. Guardian News and Media, 03 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.



Bibliography

1. Godoy, Maria. "Bill Blocking GMO Labels Stalls In Senate, But Battle Is Far From Over." NPR. NPR, 16 Mar. 2016. Web. 28 Dec. 2016.

2. Wilson, Jamar. "Topic: Food Retail Industry." Www.statista.com. N.p., 20 Sept. 2016. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

3. "State Senator Introduces Resolution to Condemn EpiPen Price Hikes." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

4. Guthrie, Amy. "Mexico City Doubles Driving Ban as Pollution Persists." The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company, 06 Apr. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

5. "When Historians Help Make History: California's Groundbreaking New K-12 Framework." When Historians Help Make History: California's Groundbreaking New K-12 Framework. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

6. "FindLaw's United States Supreme Court Case and Opinions." Findlaw. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.

7. Mulcahy, Nick. "Talc Powder, Ovarian Cancer Link: What Is the Evidence?" Medscape. N.p., 25 Feb. 2016. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

8. Miguel, James. "Gould vs Dawkins: On Evolution." Newsvine. N.p., 7 Aug. 2006. Web. 12 Dec. 2016.

9. Duesberg, Peter. "HIV & AIDS - AIDS Epidemiology; Inconsistencies with HIV and with Infectious Disease." Virus Myth. Department of Molecular and Cell Biology, 229 Stanley Hall University of California, Berkeley, 11 Oct. 1990. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.

10. The New York Times. "Thabo Mbeki and AIDS." The New York Times. The New York Times, 03 Nov. 2001. Web. 29 Dec. 2016.

11. IRIN. "Indigenous Diets Can Help Fight Modern Illnesses, Say Health Experts."Guardian Development Network. Guardian News and Media, 03 Feb. 2014. Web. 18 Jan. 2017.