Science Reduced

Marilynne Robinson on (the same edition of) Thinking Allowed.

The Dawkinsian approach reduces science itself she says. Hooray. (It’s a pity that sound minds like Harris, Dennett and Hitchens got hitched to the nutter Dawkins by the “four horsemen” meme I say, but para-science is an interesting idea).

In a nutshell. Positivism pervades patterns of thought and behaviour in science even though discredited as a metaphysics, and leads to hypocrisies such as even entertaining untestable ideas like multiverses, in a science that dismisses the metaphysical. Maxwell’s scientific neurosis. Wake up, science.

Must add “Absence of Mind: The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self.” to the Christmas list.

3 thoughts on “Science Reduced”

  1. I’ll be interested in your thoughts on “Absence of Mind”. I read it recently and am re-reading it because some of her points and language are subtle indeed, at least to me.
    Just bought her book Gilead about a near death minister (Calvinist?) telling his story to his young son.

  2. I have quite a reading list right now …. not had as much reading time, since I changed my working patterns last May …. but hoping to get back into more reading before the year end. I’ll keep you posted Marde.

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