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The idea that only things established by science and reason are true is expressed in strong form by philosopher W.K. Clifford’s axiom: “It is wrong always, everywhere, for anyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence.” Of course, Clifford doesn’t answer the pressing question of what counts as sufficient evidence. Taken in a straightforward way, then, his axiom creates a large problem for the scientific community, because unless someone has access to the necessary equipment or data, most of us have to believe the scientific authorities, whom Nietzsche scathingly derided as priests of the modern world.
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