When one scientific theory is enshrined as the reigning paradigm, dissenting views are often silenced for reasons other than lack of evidence. Dissenting views represent a threat to the ruling paradigm, and so those who have earned power and prestige from advancing it are loath to let their authority be eroded. For this and other reasons, scientists who have spent their lives working within one paradigm may have a difficult time acknowledging problems within that paradigm no matter how much contrary evidence accumulates.
John G. West, "Darwin Day in America: How our politics and culture have been dehumanized in the name of science," p.241
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