Against Wikipedias (For Scholarship)

Wikipedias are so much the rage that students are citing them in a philosophy papers. This occasioned a mini-sermon from me in one of my classes. The key excerpt was, “Never, ever, ever cite a Wikipedia in a philosophy paper.” Wikis (as they are abbreviated; our culture abbreviates everything) are unedited and unauthorized internet articles in which anyone can contribute, delete, or alter previous material. They are unregulated and ever-changing amalgamations, contingent configurations. Some of them—as least some of the time—may be well written and knowledgeable; but they lack any editorial protocol to insure decent material that conforms to standards. Thus, they are worthless as sources that one would cite in a paper are article of a scholarly nature.

However, one could use a Wiki as a way to link to more solid information. For example, a Wiki article on “epiphenomenalism” (a topic often discussion on television) might have a link to The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, a reputable on-line source. Or it might make reference to—dare I say it?—books and journal articles. Moreover, one could use a Wiki to get basic information on a kind of music—say progressive, instrumental rock—where scholarly standards are essentially irrelevant. One could glean the names of a few groups and further investigate. But this is not the stuff of a footnote.

The upshot is that democracy is not good across the board. Scholarship requires hierarchy: experts need to have editorial control. Yes, experts may be wrong (consider 95% of biologists who think Darwinism is well-established evidentially) and may even exclude legitimate ideas (consider the guild of biologists that excludes intelligent design a priori because it violates their philosophical naturalism). Nevertheless, moderated intellectual venues are necessary for intellectual pursuits. Wikis, whatever their worth, are not welcome in this realm.