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 ...
