[lbo-talk] Scientism

[Carrol Cox]

The "Lust for Certainty" (who coined that phrase?) in the 20th century
took/has taken/takes two forms. On the one hand the attitudes (of either
scientists or non-scientists) which can be labeled "scientism" in that
they hold that (their version of) science provides such certainty; on
the other hand those (like ravi) who, finding correctly that science
does not provide that religious certainty, argue that it doesn't provide
any certainty at all. The argument, for example, that astrology "might"
be true shows that religious dogmatism and religious scepticism have the
same source -- the conviction that unless a proposition is guaranteed by
the Word of God there is no reason to believe it.

Carrol