the march of unreason science democracy and the new fundamentalism may 2005

[...]... at the start of his epic about Aeneas and the founding of Rome My theme is science and society or, more precisely, the importance of the evidence-based approach to a healthy democracy Virgil’s Aeneid started with tragedy the fall of Troy and ended with hope, the founding of Rome My theme starts with the Enlightenment and the new optimism aroused by the birth of modern science and the first stirrings of. .. whim—at grave peril of his poor patients’ lives, and speedy collapse of his edifices.8 The challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church and the installation of reason in its place was the essential prelude to the birth of modern Western civilization In England, Newton ruled Newton’s Principia and Halley’s calculations of the orbits of the comets were widely circulated and the laws of nature had established... at the time of the Enlightenment in Britain, which was also the time when liberal democracy was born The two were linked at birth John Locke, who can justly be called the father of liberal democracy, explicitly acknowledged the influence of the new scientific approach to his political ideas It was also a time of optimism about the role of science in improving the condition of mankind I trace some of the. .. caused the change? The answer is inevitably a matter of subjective judgment I offer a number of explanations: the advent of nuclear power; an increasing concern about the impact of science and technology on the environment and a rise in the influence of environmental pressure groups; and finally a feeling that science is out of control because of the speed of change and because the techniques of molecular biology... is the father of modern science, Locke could reasonably be called the father of liberal democracy, the system of government in which sovereign power resides in the people, but where respect for the wishes of the majority is balanced by respect for the rule of law, human rights, and regard for the rights of minorities Liberalism was not of course a British or a Lockean invention It was a product of. .. tolerance, and sense Francis Bacon, to him, was the prophet of modern science, Isaac Newton had revealed the laws of the universe, and John Locke had demolished Descartes and rebuilt philosophy on the bedrock of experience.3 Denis Diderot (editor of the seminal reference text of the Enlightenment, the Encyclopédie) likewise acknowledged that ‘without the English, reason and philosophy would still be in the. .. a new knowledge of nature should be turned to the practical benefit of mankind; and the championing of inductive over deductive logic He was acknowledged by the Royal Society, when it was founded some forty years after his death, as the father of experimental philosophy and its inspiration The birth of liberal democracy One rival to Bacon’s claim to be the most influential figure in the pantheon of the. .. case they undermined the Word of God as revealed in the Koran and other sacred texts and science never recovered its place of glory in the Islamic world China provides another example of self-inflicted technological decline By the early fifteenth century, Chinese technology was probably the most sophisticated in the world Not only had the Chinese invented gunpowder, the compass, and printing, but they... scientists onto the defensive A mood has been created in which scientists themselves have come to feel that somehow public ignorance of science, indeed public suspicion of science, is their own fault In my view, the lack of public understanding of science and the apparent lack of concern of the public for the evidence-based approach should concern non-scientists more than it does My theme is that reliance... product of Britain and The Netherlands (the country in which both Locke and Voltaire had to seek refuge from domestic intolerance) The origins of liberalism were Protestant, but tolerant of other religions Anglo-Dutch liberalism valued commerce and      industry, had immense respect for the rights of property and supported freedom of expression The Netherlands, the most advanced, . ignorance of science, indeed public suspicion of science, is their own fault. In my view, the lack of public understanding of science and the apparent lack of concern of the public for the evidence-based approach. alt="" THE MARCH OF UNREASON T J Science, Democracy, and the New Fundamentalism DICK TAVERNE 1 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford   Oxford University Press is a department of the University. Britain and the creation of the modern world. It is no coincidence that this was the time when modern science was born. Indeed science was the chief progenitor of the Enlightenment. Both science and