07.18.11
Will darwinism undermine science (and secularism)?
I am sometimes puzzled by the cultural state of Darwinism and science. Scientists seem to be oblivious to the self-destructive tactics they have let loose on the reputation of science. And they have started to exhude an aura of stupidity behind the constant cockiness of their ‘smarts’ self-image. It is unkind, but the perception of stupidity in various social groups is obvious at first sight, and doesn’t require genius to see. The average scientist is being made into a ‘smart technical specialist’ and dumbed down in the process. At the end of that road the legacy of scientific modernism will change course, and I certainly hope the warning signs of right-wing super dumbed-down anti-science isn’t the outcome. If we look at the Enlightenment, and its counterpoints, we see the solution, and the demand for balance, and for balanced education.
In the end the fate of science could be the same as that which befall it in antiquity, as the Greek scientific Revolution dwindled into nothing and disappeared.
In any case, the issue with darwinism is BAD science, not religion. And the fixation of the realm of Big Scieence on this ideology is a very bad omen. You would think that the two sides of such questions would be explored with alacrity by a true science culture. Instead we have the almost medieval indoctrination into a bad theory, as the ultimate talisman of explanation. The prospects here are not good.