The Dynamics of Heresy in a Profession

It has been suggested that the term 'heresy' be rehabilitated to describe challenges to ideology in a profession. However, the term has been used in a variety of ways, impairing its descriptive utility. Using a variety of examples of potential heretical ideas in modern science and medicine, this paper tries to carefully define heresy and distinguish it from other forms of ideological challenge to a profession, such as challenges to knowledge products and challenges to authority. A dramaturgical approach is then used to try and describe the stages of heretical conflict in a profession.