The history of scientific misconceptions in the USA and their socio-economic prerequisites according to the research of Naomi Oreskes

The article examines the main works of the famous American historian of science Naomi Oreskes, highlighting examples of scientific misconceptions and their background in sources of funding, academic ambitions, and social values. Her works attract the attention of both a wide range of readers and specialists. For fans of the popular style, complex questions about the relationship between science and business in the United States, modern criteria of research activity, and the epistemological role of ecology in the system of scientific knowledge are presented. For specialists, a thorough archival work is obvious, and the novelty of covering events from a historical perspective is interesting. Describing examples of incompetent research and views, Oreskes uses the phrase scientific ignorance. Due to the lack of a direct semantic analogue in Russian, the concept of delusion replaces it in the article. The analysis and synthesis of the key theoretical provisions of Oreskes' works was carried out by identifying the role of epistemic standards that the author adhered to in characterizing questionable research practices. Historical-genetic and historical-systemic methods were used to study the relationship of misconceptions with commercial interests in the socio-historical context of the development of science in the United States. The productivity of the regulatory function of expert consensus, interdisciplinarity, value pluralism in the criticism of destructive doubts, outdated criteria, and fundamentalism in the scientific community is determined. The history of scientific misconceptions is an important aspect of the sociology of knowledge, presented in Oreskes' writings using a variety of empirical material. The historical approach made it possible to highlight both the social and epistemological consequences of distortions and falsifications in science that arose under the influence of the material motives of scientists or their sponsors and employers. The appeal to Oreskes' works is designed to actualize the sense of social responsibility among scientists, which, in her opinion, contributes to the perception of research norms adequate to the modern level of knowledge. The article may be useful for specialists in the history and philosophy of science, used in educational courses in these disciplines.

scientific ignorance, epistemic standards, expert consensus, sources of financing, market fundamentalism, environmental agenda, research practice, doctrines of neoliberalism, Sociology of science, social responsibility