Philosophy of Science Commons^™

Facing The Fringe, Laura Gradowski

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

Fringe theories are a broad set of alternative views that mainstream scientists deny. Case studies from the past two centuries demonstrate that fringe theorists have sometimes been marginalized to the detriment of scientific advancements. While it is accepted that once in a blue moon comes a diamond in the rough, there are far more cases of fringe theories becoming mainstream than has been traditionally acknowledged. Indeed, fringe theories become mainstream with such regularity that our epistemic intolerance towards them is in need of urgent reexamination. With the recognition that tolerance is an epistemic virtue, we can view debates about theory …