Merit is a central pillar of liberal epistemology, humanism, and democracy. The scientific enterprise, built on merit, has proven effective in generating scientific and technological advances, reducing suffering, narrowing social gaps, and improving the quality of life globally. This perspective documents the ongoing attempts to undermine the core principles of liberal epistemology and to replace merit with non-scientific, politically motivated criteria. We explain the philosophical origins of this conflict, document the intrusion of ideology into our scientific institutions, discuss the perils of abandoning merit, and offer an alternative, human-centered approach to address existing social inequalities.
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This content will become publicly available on April 1, 2026
Using numbers strategically: Proportional reasoning induces wealth in-group bias in an equity task
- Award ID(s):
- 1945170
- PAR ID:
- 10599457
- Publisher / Repository:
- Cognitive Development
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Cognitive Development
- Volume:
- 74
- Issue:
- C
- ISSN:
- 0885-2014
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 101572
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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