Abstract

The presentation of the tension between the autonomy and authority of the scientific community should be recalibrated as the tension between the authority of the scientific community and the autonomy of individuals within a democratic state. Limiting the authority of the scientific community necessarily limits its autonomy (and in this sense the “tension” dissipates). Whatever constraints are imposed on the scientific community by the state, they do not by themselves sanction individual disregard for state policies. The tension, then, is between the political authority of policy makers and the autonomy claimed by individuals. There should be no indiscriminate license for following one’s “gut feelings” when a state adheres to (scientific) expert recommendations that protect and save individual lives.