Censorship in Science

The term censorship often suggests prohibitions on obscene or indecent material, not scientific statements. In the past few years, many Americans have heard about censorship in relation to various celebrities accused of saying or doing something considered indecent or obscene, often in cases involving on-air personalities. However, censorship can mean many things other than attempts to prevent this kind of inappropriate material from reaching audiences. For example, the term censorship is also used to describe press restrictions in effect under conditions of war or other national emergencies. And one of the most famous censorship cases from history was about science: the case of Galileo Galilei, who was told by religious leaders in the early 1600s that it was heresy for him to assert that the sun, not the Earth, was the center of the universe. At the time Galilei was alive, the Church was the authority on issues related to the natural world.

In modern times, various mechanisms have been put in place to try to make sure that the science people are exposed to is “good” science in the sense that published scientific findings are based on approved scientific methods. One key mechanism is the peer-review system, which means that scientific papers are evaluated by others, often anonymously, who ask whether the research has been carried out according to accepted standards. Some scientists who have been rejected in this way may claim they are being censored, but many scientists would agree that the system is not about censorship, but about providing checks and balances that will continue to keep scientific research legitimate.

Other cases are not so clear-cut. There are some fields—such as the study of the paranormal (ghosts, UFOs, or mysterious disappearances)—that are [Page 118]not considered as legitimate as the familiar sciences such as physics, biology, or psychology. Whether reactions to this kind of study from the scientific community should be thought of as censorship is an open question. There are, however, other cases in which the effort to censor someone doing scientific research is much clearer. And censorship is not limited to extremist views or to the events of previous centuries. Many examples of censoring science can be founded in recent times.