Welcome to another Still in the Storm Substack post.
Today, I want to clear up a few things about science.
Many of you are probably aware of what I’m about to say, but I think repetition is good.
After all, we do not have the leisure of resting on our laurels for even one second.
Without further adieu, let’s dig in.
Science cannot be settled
It is never, ever settled and truly can’t be by its very nature.
If anyone tries to tell you that, they don’t know what they are talking about.
An understanding of scientific knowledge sheds light on this.
Generally speaking, knowledge comes in two flavors, a priori and a posteriori.
A priori knowledge is derived from reason alone so, we can know that it is true.
It comprises things like mathematics and is unchanging.
Contrary to popular belief these days 2 + 2 will always equal 4.
That said, a posteriori knowledge is unknowable by reason alone.
It requires observation and empirical evidence, such as from an experiment.
Therefore, this type of knowledge is conditional and can change.
By definition, science cannot be settled.
Hopefully, that settles this debate (pun intended).
Do not elevate science to religious dogma
Moving on, science should never be elevated to a position that is higher than that which it can provide.
We should never, ever put our trust or faith in science.
It’s not, nor should it ever have become, religious dogma.
Unfortunately, that is exactly what has happened as we have turned science into what is known as scientism.
Scientism is where science is the only allowable source of knowledge of our reality and everything else, like philosophy and theology, is sidelined.
I don’t think I need to tell you just how incredibly dangerous this can be.
In fact, someone greater than myself has captured it even better than perhaps I can.
C.S. Lewis nailed it
I think that C.S. Lewis perhaps best captured the potential threat of science as scientism.
Just check out the quotes below and decide for yourself.
“I dread government in the name of science. That’s how tyrannies come in.”
“The new oligarchy must increasingly rely on the advice of scientists till in the end the politicians become merely the scientists’ puppets.”
Sounds, awfully familiar, no?
It seems we have a thing or two that we still need to learn.
We must learn from Covid
Covid showed us how science could be wielded as a weapon for the control and herding of the populace.
This can never be allowed to happen again.
Thus, we must reclaim true science that is free from politics and religion.
It is imperative that we hold science accountable and do not overly rely upon it.
This is not to say that it’s all wrong and we should just scrap it all either.
We need to rein it so that it can no longer be used against us.
Oh yeah, and it’s absolutely not anti-science to question science.
In fact, that’s the very foundation of true science so, don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
Moving forward, we all (yes, scientists and non-scientists) need to work together to keep science in check.
Are you up to the task?
Let me know what you think in the discussion below.
Talk soon,
Mike
P.S. I would love your feedback. Are you interested in a course on learning to understand science?
This would be something that teaches you a process that you can use to discern and evaluate the findings in any scientific study and much more.
Let me know by hitting 'reply' and sending a response. You can also email me directly at: mike@sciencedefined.com. I will read and respond to every email.
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Great post, Mike. I began telling my friends and students just what you said here back in early 2020. When you hear someone say “the science is settled,” run the other way. That person intends to do you harm. Not only that, but Satan uses twisted language like that to enslave us. I’d very much like you to look at my publication “Health in the Name.”
Simply and succinctly said!