Hi All interested, I have used the term scientism recently, much to some individuals distaste. I am not using that term in a discriminatory fashion, as I myself am a scientist. I use it to express a very real belief system. So let me briefly explain. I looked up the term on Wiki just before writing this, since it seems that many use that as a truth reference. I do not go along with the battle stance of the article, but it gives a useful description.
Science is a useful tool. It provides for many things which enhance our survival, comfort, and enjoyment. Within science I include applied science, such as engineering. Scientism on the other hand is the blind faith that science provides the best, and perhaps only true interpretation of the world. This is held by scientists and non-scientists. The rules of scientism are very narrow, and dogmatic. Indeed, it is a fast tenant that if science cannot measure it, it does not exist. Scientism does allow for growth in that if something becomes measurable it does exist. A good example is the ghost of gravity that Pirsig discusses. Within scientism I am including the impact of science on such disciplines as psychology, economics, and personal experience. The faith in science is abused by those who are trying to get what they want. Scientism depends on objectivity. Everything it describes is at arms length. Its proliferation is one of the key reasons why SOM has become much more dominant than it used to be. While it does have some sense in the object it describes, it has no say in the personal experience. This is in the realm of spiritualism. Because of the hold of scientism on our lives, be believe that our experience in this world is purely due to the objective world. For example the notion that the way to be happy is to make more money. Money has nothing to do with happiness, and for those that it does, they have replaced an inner feeling with an object. This kind of consumption becomes endless, because there is no way it can fulfill. So, along with scientism, and its preachers, has evolved a world of objectivism. I have said before that for every term in psychology in English, there are forty in Sanskrit. We have lost the ability to experience ourselves directly. A good example is Richard Dawkins. He denies the existence of God using objective reasoning. He has no idea what he is talking about. Now, if he had been a devote Christian and now was arguing against it, then I might listen. However nothing of the sort has happened. Yes, a god maybe does not exist in the world of scientism, but that is simply one of scientism's beliefs. Science does not have the tools to measure a god. So let me say to those who claim that spirituality does not exist in as real a way as, say, an airplane. You are doing battle with windmills. You are fighting your own demons. There is no end to that no matter how many tools of scientism you use. They are the wrong tools. The Kingdom of Science is not what it appears to be. I will end with some lyrics of Jeff Tweedy from "Wishful Thinking" by Wilco. "Fill up your mind with all it can know Don't forget that your body will let it all go Fill up your mind with all it can know 'Cause what would love be without wishful thinking" Cheers Mark Moq_Discuss mailing list Listinfo, Unsubscribing etc. http://lists.moqtalk.org/listinfo.cgi/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org Archives: http://lists.moqtalk.org/pipermail/moq_discuss-moqtalk.org/ http://moq.org.uk/pipermail/moq_discuss_archive/
