The ideals of the scientific process aren’t the problem

From Science Fictions by Stuart Ritchie.  Page 245.   

In spite of the perverse incentives, in spite of the publication system, in spite of academia and in spite of scientists, science does actually contain the tools to heal itself. It’s with more science that we can discover where our research has gone wrong and work out how to fix it. The ideals of the scientific process aren’t the problem: the problem is the betrayal of those ideals by the way we do research in practice. If we can only begin to align the practice with the values, we can regain any wavering trust – and stand back to marvel at all those wondrous discoveries with a clear conscience.

Émile Zola defined art as ‘a corner of nature seen through a temperament’.  As we’ve witnessed over and over throughout the book, this definition could equally well apply to science – or, at least, to the way science is currently done. The corners of nature with which science deals are seen through all-too-human temperaments, with their attendant prejudice, arrogance, carelessness and dishonesty. You needn’t believe that science is just one among many equal ‘truths’ to agree that it’s definitely a human activity, and thus that it bears the imprint of human failings.