scepticism about science
Here is a chilling article by a philosopher I have mentioned in the past. (Was it to this class?) Peter Singer,who holds the chair in bioethics in Princeton,is probably the most controversial philosopher in the world. He has defended euthanasia and abortion but is best known for his campaign on behalf of animal rights. There were near riots when he was awarded the chair in Princeton.People were holding placards calling him a Nazi. One of my conservative colleagues called him the "enemy of humanity,the champion of the chicken"
This article is about Mbecki,former President of SouthAfrica, who took the usual post colonialist critique of the "hegemony of western rationalism" to tragic extremes. Is this a logical consequence of the anti scientific discourse that is so common nowadays? Is President(soon to be expresident) Bush's policy limitng stem cell research a milder version of the same outlook as Mbecki's
posted by louis @ 7:31 AM
1 Comments:
It seems that, with its reaction to "Modernism" and the Enlightenment, post-colonialism and postmodernism has manufactured "tools" for parties to reduce knowledge to hegemonic constructs. Those who try to employ such knowledge, even to the good of other parties, are received with incredulity, since science is just another power structure that serves to "other" those that are not versed in science itself.
However, it is perfectly fine to cling to old misconceptions that no longer perform, which ironically, is what post-colonialism and postmodernism tries to extinguish. Yes, science is not Absolute, it is not perfect; it does not claim, or at least no longer claims that it is. But it can be used to our advantage, it can be used to save lives as Singer points out. Those working in science labs across universities do not have a program to turn human beings into robots. It seems like the anti-scientific discourse serves as an escape from reality, since reality is nothing more than a "social construction." Whether it is fear that drives this discourse, or an immaturity that is allowed to persist, making science an enemy only hinders humanity.
Its interesting that Mbecki, and Bush represent a postmodern conservatism that serves to limit policies that can otherwise improve human lives from ignoring the relevant scientific discourse that is taking place.
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