It is important to remember that "science", "rationality", "objectivity" are just words. Those are concepts that were invented by human beings, and that we have learned at some point in our lives. Those are mental constructs; we do not have any direct experience of rationality or objectivity.
We have to be especially careful when these concepts are opposed to what seems to be "irrational": religion, ideology, etc. Historically people were always trying to look for "solid ground", something that we knew "for real", because life can be so uncertain in this world that is always changing, especially since our perception is always changing as well. Then these words merely describe a certain quality in our attitude to the world, or a certain quality in a description of the world that we are looking to find. But beware of the same terms appearing in a dual polarity. Do you want your children to study the story of God's creation of life, or the rational, scientific version? Do you want to use hypnosis, traditional medicine, or a scientific, objectively helpful treatment?
Notice just how emotionally charged those questions are. Clearly, in such a context science, reason, objectivity, etc. are now being used as symbols, and very irrational ones! There would be no need to invoke such concepts so often except perhaps in a purely philosophical discussion in some academic journal, were it not for all the fears, anxiety, and selfishness that are easily evoked by these ideas in so many people in our modern Western world.
It is so comforting to feel smarter than millions of other people! After all, you are not stupid enough to think that the world was created in seven days, and not delusional enough to think that you will be reborn after death. (Are you sure that those millions literally believe that the world was created in seven days? Can there be something that you miss?) You are a strong, independent person, and you do not need this opium for the masses. It is so reassuring to avoid the anxiety and the responsibility by relying on what it "scientifically proven"! If you are a doctor, nobody can blame you for using a "scientifically proven" method, even if you know it is not going to work, and even though 20 years later, in light of the new evidence, the "current scientific view" may switch to the opposite. Your dead patients may contribute to this evidence, but you will not avoid the responsibility by identifying yourself with "the science".
Some appeal to the "scientific method", but even the work of Karl Popper, who set the foundation for this very idea, shows just how tricky and multifaceted this concept is. The work of others, such as Paul Feyerabend, questions the very viability of this concept. Some appeal to the "logical-mathematical" intelligence, even though it has technically nothing to do with reason or rationality per se. In any case, for all that we know, cutting-edge research is often done via complicated imagery, metaphors, and anything but "sequential logical-mathemtical reasoning", whatever that is.
So next time you start arguing in favor of science, reason, or rationality, see what is more important to you: to be right or to be free.
We have to be especially careful when these concepts are opposed to what seems to be "irrational": religion, ideology, etc. Historically people were always trying to look for "solid ground", something that we knew "for real", because life can be so uncertain in this world that is always changing, especially since our perception is always changing as well. Then these words merely describe a certain quality in our attitude to the world, or a certain quality in a description of the world that we are looking to find. But beware of the same terms appearing in a dual polarity. Do you want your children to study the story of God's creation of life, or the rational, scientific version? Do you want to use hypnosis, traditional medicine, or a scientific, objectively helpful treatment?
Notice just how emotionally charged those questions are. Clearly, in such a context science, reason, objectivity, etc. are now being used as symbols, and very irrational ones! There would be no need to invoke such concepts so often except perhaps in a purely philosophical discussion in some academic journal, were it not for all the fears, anxiety, and selfishness that are easily evoked by these ideas in so many people in our modern Western world.
It is so comforting to feel smarter than millions of other people! After all, you are not stupid enough to think that the world was created in seven days, and not delusional enough to think that you will be reborn after death. (Are you sure that those millions literally believe that the world was created in seven days? Can there be something that you miss?) You are a strong, independent person, and you do not need this opium for the masses. It is so reassuring to avoid the anxiety and the responsibility by relying on what it "scientifically proven"! If you are a doctor, nobody can blame you for using a "scientifically proven" method, even if you know it is not going to work, and even though 20 years later, in light of the new evidence, the "current scientific view" may switch to the opposite. Your dead patients may contribute to this evidence, but you will not avoid the responsibility by identifying yourself with "the science".
Some appeal to the "scientific method", but even the work of Karl Popper, who set the foundation for this very idea, shows just how tricky and multifaceted this concept is. The work of others, such as Paul Feyerabend, questions the very viability of this concept. Some appeal to the "logical-mathematical" intelligence, even though it has technically nothing to do with reason or rationality per se. In any case, for all that we know, cutting-edge research is often done via complicated imagery, metaphors, and anything but "sequential logical-mathemtical reasoning", whatever that is.
So next time you start arguing in favor of science, reason, or rationality, see what is more important to you: to be right or to be free.
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