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Reliance on authority affects the cognitive lifes of scientists in at least three ways. First, there is the general epistemic dependence on the past that permeates everyone's early intellectual ontogeny. We absorb the lore of our predecessors through the teaching of parents and other authorities. Second, at the time of entry into the scientific community, fledgling scientists endorse a community-wide conception of legitimate epistemic authority. Certain people are to be trusted to decide on certain issues and the novice must accept whatever agreements they reach on those issues. Third, during the course of individual research, scientists interact with one another, collaborating and competing, adopting the claims made by some of their colleagues, investigating the proposals of others, when the claims and proposals in question go beyond what is agreed upon by the pertinent community. There are different assignments of authority within the scientific community, and these may shape the course of the members' research. (p. 245)Kitcher, P. (1992). Authority, deference, and the role of individual reason. In E. McMullin (Ed.), The social dimensions of Science (pp. 244-271). Notre Dame (Indiana): University of Notre Dame Press.