The Viral Model for AIDS: Paradigmatic Dominance, Politics, or Best Approximation of Reality?

In 1981, a non-infectious disease hypothesis was offered by the Centers for Disease Control to explain the cluster of atypical pneumonias which had appeared among gay men in the United States. Although quickly supplanted by the now widely held viral hypothesis and largely ignored by professional and media sources, that view has persisted. This article raises the question of why one explanation for the epidemic of immune system suppression has dominated the discourse on AIDS, despite the anomalies attributed to it by the proponents of other viewpoints. Alternative responses to the question are set forth drawing upon literatures in the philosophy of science and public policy formulation. Some discussion is provided of what the consequences may be if one of the contrarian hypotheses proves to be the closer approximation to the truth about AIDS etiology.