ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the epistemic virtues and vices of vaccine denialists draws on the autobiographical testimony of vaccine denialists. The author's work should inform the judgments he makes about vaccine denialists, by showing that some of the practices that lead to vaccine denialism are better than those which are prevalent in mainstream medicine, while some of them are much worse. Parents are right to resist a narrative that is popular among vaccine proponents, according to which errors in the production of vaccines are a thing of the past. Jenny McCarthy, a model and actress, is a prominent advocate for vaccine safety. La Leche League (LLL) is a breastfeeding support group and it manifests the same epistemic virtues as other resistant epistemic communities. Facts about gender oppression and medical abuses provide mothers with good reasons to be skeptical of physicians' assurances regarding the safety and efficacy of vaccines.