Hogyan legyünk tudományellenesek?
How to be Anti-scientific

Summary/Abstract: The term ‘anti-scientific’ is frequently used in such controversies surrounding science as the recent turmoil called the ‘Science Wars’. The general implicit assumption behind these charges is that being anti-scientific depends on what one has to say about science. However, a brief hoax demonstrates that this assumption would lead us to rebuke not only scholars in science studies but famous scientists as well: the most scandalous tenets attributed to alleged enemies of science have been repeatedly voiced by illustrious representatives of the scientific community. This shows that who says something is at least as important as what is being said: members of a family may say things about themselves outsiders are never permitted to say. It is also crucial how something is said about science—whether it is intended as description, or prescription, or evaluation. Finally, about what these statements are said is of primary importance: the conceptual disunity of science is shown not only by many findings in the social studies of science but, almost paradoxically, also by the wide variability of metascientific statements formulated by scientists. Meta-scientific statements, when taken at face value rather than seen as rhetorical war devices, can and do inform our understanding of the cultural practices of scientists, and professional metascientists have certainly not less to say here than scientists themselves.

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