Reductionist scientists called out in public arena

Those we might call public intellectuals often seem alert to the over-reach of science. They point out cases where conclusions are extrapolated from data that cannot bear the weight. For example, James Wilson, a British writer and researcher, has this to say:

James Wilson

"Compared with the last crop of scientists who dominated the airwaves, [that is] the New Atheists – who kept picking philosophical fights they couldn’t win, and scolding the rest of us for being so stupid – the giants of Silicon Valley are not only awe-inspiringly brilliant, but appear refreshingly positive and optimistic." 

However, in speaking about Silicon Valley’s engineers, Wilson admits that “the vision of the future to which they are leading us terrifies me” (Read more here). He means the futurists are making the familiar mistake of viewing the person in terms of mechanical reflexes. 

On that point, Adam Gopnik, writing in the New Yorker, speaks out about how scientific reductionism cannot scale the heights of a person’s hopes or desires, for example. With a mocking tone, he writes:

The language of behaviourism and instinct can be applied to anything, after all: we’re not really falling in love; we’re just anticipating sexual pleasure leading to a prudent genetic mix.

The reductive mindset cheats the person of due recognition as being in possession of a range of capabilities that transcend the material.  That mindset is a disabling factor when it comes to recognizing reality, as examined in a previous post.  A final word:

We need to see the secular materialist epistemology [the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion] not as the ground of truth, but rather a “take” on truth. It is a powerful epistemology, one that can do great things, especially in science. But it is not and cannot be a complete way of knowing. We need to be careful not to let the cultural hegemony that secular materialism enjoys in our post-Christian culture gain the upper hand. Respect it for what it can tell us, but don’t give it more credit than it deserves. (Read more here)

                                     – Rod Dreher: journalist and author