Published 9 July 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2783
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;339:b2783

Editor's Choice

Keep libel laws out of science

I hope all readers of the BMJ are signed up to organised scepticism. It’s not a blog, but it could be. It’s one of the four principles of good science as articulated by Robert Merton nearly 70 years ago. The other three—communalism, universalism, and disinterestedness—are no less important, but I had to turn to Wikipedia to remind me what they were. Merton defined organised scepticism as the requirement that scientific claims be exposed to critical scrutiny before they are accepted.

This wasn’t a new idea. Tony Delamothe reminds us (doi:10.1136/bmj.b2771) that the motto of the Royal Society translates as "Take nobody’s word for it," showing its commitment "to withstand the domination of authority...and to verify all statements by an appeal to fact determined by experiment."

Longstanding and essential though it is, this principle is under serious threat. As Harvey Marcovitch explains (doi:10.1136/bmj.b2759), people whose scientific claims . . . [Full text of this article]

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This article has been cited by other articles:

• Bonneux, L. (2009). The Singh libel case and 'alternative medicine'. Eur J Public Health 19: 574-575 [Full text]  

Rapid Responses:

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Real Science?

Neil menzies
bmj.com, 11 Jul 2009 [Full text]

CAM, free speech, and the law

Lionel R Milgrom
bmj.com, 12 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Keep libel laws out of science

John Marks
bmj.com, 13 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Can libel laws deal with metaphysics?

Richard Rawlins
bmj.com, 13 Jul 2009 [Full text]

But was it libel?

Trisha Greenhalgh
bmj.com, 13 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Real Science!

Joe Magrath
bmj.com, 13 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Make fair comparisons

John S Garrow, et al.
bmj.com, 13 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Choosing our words carefully

Hazel Thornton
bmj.com, 13 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Unprofessional language is appropriate when dealing with unprofessional people

David Colquhoun
bmj.com, 15 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: CAM, free speech, and the law

Leslie B Rose
bmj.com, 14 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Pseudoscience, quackery and English libel

Nick Ross
bmj.com, 14 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Innappropriate advertising in the BMJ

David J Eedy
bmj.com, 14 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Re: CAM, free speech, and the law

Lionel R Milgrom
bmj.com, 15 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Business models

Richard Bartley
bmj.com, 15 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Pseudoscience, quackery and English libel

Lionel R Milgrom
bmj.com, 16 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Re: Re: CAM, free speech, and the law

Richard D Rawlins
bmj.com, 16 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Public forums may require less "scholarly" language

Austin C Elliott
bmj.com, 16 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Critical assessment is important

Edzard Ernst
bmj.com, 16 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Welome to the Monkey House

Joan McClusky
bmj.com, 16 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Patients and clinicians benefit from open and unhindered debate.

Simon Carley, et al.
bmj.com, 16 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Re: Re: CAM, free speech, and the law

Leslie B Rose
bmj.com, 17 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Re: Re: Re: CAM, free speech, and the law

Lionel R Milgrom
bmj.com, 18 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: CAM, free speech, and the law

Simon J Baker
bmj.com, 19 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Reasonable debate

Noel B Thomas
bmj.com, 20 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Apples and cherries aren't the only fruit....

Lionel R Milgrom
bmj.com, 20 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Keep libel laws out of science

Stephen F Hayes
bmj.com, 20 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Misuse of scientific authorities

Leslie B Rose
bmj.com, 21 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Cherry picking?

Edzard Ernst
bmj.com, 21 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Misuse of scientific authorities

Lionel R Milgrom
bmj.com, 23 Jul 2009 [Full text]

NICE and homeopathy

Richard D Rawlins
bmj.com, 23 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Honesty and cherries.....

Lionel R Milgrom
bmj.com, 25 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Cherry picking? - Side-splitting!

William Alderson
bmj.com, 25 Jul 2009 [Full text]

We need not scholarly language but scientifically defined terms

William Alderson
bmj.com, 25 Jul 2009 [Full text]

NICE and easy.

Richard Rawlins
bmj.com, 25 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Literature reviews and meta-analysis in homeopathy

Petter Viksveen, et al.
bmj.com, 26 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Literature reviews and meta-analysis in homeopathy

Simon J Baker
bmj.com, 26 Jul 2009 [Full text]

Re: Re: Cherry picking? - Side-splitting!

E Ernst
bmj.com, 27 Jul 2009 [Full text]

This all seems like a terrible waste of intellect

Hywel Thomas
bmj.com, 28 Jul 2009 [Full text]