Scientists And Fundamentalists

I was shocked by some of the attitudes expressed in your article on the growth of anti-science sentiments (F. Hoke, The Scientist, July 10, 1995). Most striking, and disturbing, was the close resemblance of the indignant scientist to the self-righteous fundamentalist Christian. They clearly have the same capacity for tolerance and open-mindedness. While the influence of fundamentalist Christian groups is both frightening and incomprehensible, I find no reassurance in the flight from rational di

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The basic assumption of science is that there is an underlying immutable reality. The postmodernist stresses that this immutable reality is not directly accessible to the observer, but is colored by perspective. The scientist mistakenly counters by arguing that science is empirical and therefore objective.

Experimental science is observation-based and therefore subjective, not objective. Hypotheses, experimental design, and interpretation of experimental results are all colored by their existence within an established framework consisting of the background of the experimenter and his scientific environment. This is not to say that the underlying reality is relative, but that our relationship to it is that of a subjective perceiver to a complex, multifaceted perceived.

An important part of being a scientist, whether physicist or anthropologist, is the ability and desire to discuss ideas in a free and open environment. The best way of combating the radical religious groups, which represent a true threat ...

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