Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Separation Of Science And State
So, my wiofe leads me to this post at Sue Bob's Diary which cites this post lining to this article - The unholy lust of scientists - It may be time to curtail public financing of scientific research by David S. Oderberg. Oderberg's article is meaty stuff on the rise of scientism, but this is by far my favorite pull quote
The first level has to do with scientific inquiry. Because most research is now done with government money - funding of science is now a largely political process, not a scientific one. Here is an example of what I mean. This means that what gets funded is not necessarily based on where the research is leading but on what is "hot" or what has "buzz." Those words were literally used when discussing my Masters thesis some 20 years or more ago. Matters have only grown worse. The fact of the matter is that industry provides far more useful science than academia, sucking at the government teet, does. That would be a fascinating study sometime.
The other level is the philosophical/religious one. The rise of scientism makes government funding of science the functional equivalent of the establishment of religion, or at least the funding of it. Maybe I ought to pass that on to a few of my constituional lawyer type friends.
One thing is for sure, our society has an irrational faith in science, as irrational as any religious faith. If that does not change, we must adapt our society to acknowledge the reality of it.
Related Tags: science, scientism, church and state, government funding, religion
I share the late philosopher of science Paul Feyerabend's demand for a separation of science and state..."The separation of science and state" may become one of those catch phrases for the ages. It is pithy wisdom containing enormous truth. the necessity of it comes on two levels.
The first level has to do with scientific inquiry. Because most research is now done with government money - funding of science is now a largely political process, not a scientific one. Here is an example of what I mean. This means that what gets funded is not necessarily based on where the research is leading but on what is "hot" or what has "buzz." Those words were literally used when discussing my Masters thesis some 20 years or more ago. Matters have only grown worse. The fact of the matter is that industry provides far more useful science than academia, sucking at the government teet, does. That would be a fascinating study sometime.
The other level is the philosophical/religious one. The rise of scientism makes government funding of science the functional equivalent of the establishment of religion, or at least the funding of it. Maybe I ought to pass that on to a few of my constituional lawyer type friends.
One thing is for sure, our society has an irrational faith in science, as irrational as any religious faith. If that does not change, we must adapt our society to acknowledge the reality of it.
Related Tags: science, scientism, church and state, government funding, religion
