The debate highlighted the role of credibility in science from "summary" of Leviathan and the Air-Pump by Steven Shapin,Simon Schaffer
The debate over the merits of Hobbesian and Boylean approaches to knowledge production brought to the forefront the critical issue of credibility in the practice of science. Both parties sought to establish their credibility by employing different methods and criteria. Hobbes emphasized the importance of authority and reputation in determining the veracity of scientific claims. He argued that the credibility of a statement derived from the credibility of the person making it – a position that drew on traditional modes of knowledge production prevalent in the seventeenth century. In contrast, Boyle advocated for the experimental method as the primary means of establishing credibility in scient...
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