A concept popularized by
Henrik Ibsen's play
An Enemy of the People
Scientific, intellectual and philosophical (etc.) "progress" requires proving that widely held beliefs are erroneous and/or incomplete.
Individuals or small minorities are, inevitably, the ones who make the new discoveries or have the latest cognitive leap. It is then their unenviable task to shift the perception of the majority. When these people are not part of an established institution respected by the majority, they are often subject to ridicule and/or persecution.
A majority often operates on a "truth" determined by consensus; it is the task of the minority to subvert the dominant paradigm.