 Self-interest (in the form of self-aggrandisement and/or exploitation of "the credulity, ignorance, and dependence of the layman") is the logical opposite of disinterestedness, and may be appropriated by authority "for interested purposes" (Merton notes "totalitarian spokesmen on race or economy or history" as examples, and describes science as enabling such "new mysticisms" that "borrow prestige").Skepticism (i.e.