Resistance

GERMAR RUDOLF, RESISTANCE IS OBLIGATORYc) mentioning the tests and critiques of others and test and criticizethem likewise, i.e. no rash backing down.The most rigorous attempts at refutation are not only admissiblebut even necessary, since they are the only possibilityto determine the reliability or the degree of trustworthiness ofa thesis. If one is forced to proceed from predetermined assumptionswhich moreover are withdrawn from any attempt atrefutation, be it by taboos, prohibitions, or research moratoria,then the process of scientific discovery is most severely impeded.4. One has to avoid immunizing one’s own pre-judgments againstattempts at refutation by:a) avoiding auxiliary theories to shore up dubious main theses;b) selecting data only according to objective criteria (source criticism);c) using exact, consistent, and constant definitions of terms;d) not attacking persons as a substitute for factual arguments.Any attempt to immunize against attempts at refutation is illegitimate.III. Whether a work is scientific in nature can be perceived by way ofthe work’s features due to formal criteria. The scientific nature of awork cannot be perceived by1. the starting assumption chosen (initial hypothesis);2. the research results, as long as they have been arrived at by scientificmeans;3. the religious, sexual, political or ideological orientation of theauthor;4. the national or ethnic origin of the author;5. the author’s motivations or intentions.IV. It is the scientist’s right and duty to make his research results publiclyaccessible for1. the scientific community;2. the society at large.This duty results from the necessitya) to expose the work to critique;b) to give account about one’s own activities;c) to inform the society at large about new insights.The right includes the publicationa) of the scientific work itself;235