The Postmodern Medical Paradigm: A Case Study of Anti-MMR Vaccine Arguments

Abstract

This essay analyzes the arguments of the antivaccination movement, arguing that many analysts have misdiagnosed the root causes of vaccine skepticism. It is no longer productive for argumentation scholars to discount scientific skepticism as simply a problem of an ignorant public, religious zealots, or conservative ideologies, because antivaccine beliefs transcend ideology. The authors argue that simplistic accusations of blame on one political or cultural subgroup are inaccurate, and that the emergence of powerful antivaccine advocates points to the power of a conspiracy theory supported by anecdotes.