Expert Knowledge

Darian Leader (noted Lacanian analyst) writes about expert knowledge in today's Times.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-973723,00.html


He discusses the exposure of false expertise relating to cot-death. He also discusses what happens when rival experts from different disciplines disagree. Which experts do we believe?

A key question is the legitimization of knowledge. Apparently, we trust people who are well-known. And the article ends:

"The less value we give to the internal process of learning, the more we expect knowledge to be provided to us from the outside."