[lbo-talk] Going After Scientism Through Science Fiction

[B.]

The word "scientism" seems to come from the same
smelly toolbox that anarcho-primitivists go to when
they apply the term "workerism" to deride Marxism or
class-struggle/syndicalist anarchism, also sneeringly
called "productionism" by the same folks. Or the
"science is also a type of religion"-type arguments
made by literal defenders of the faith (i.e. an
argument which amounts to: "Your premises are as shaky
as mine!" -- not a great way to buttress one's own
stance).

It also reminds me of Noam Chomsky's quote in a debate
over a postmodern contention (IIRC) regarding "white
male science" -- that that appellation seemed to him
no better than the derisive "Jewish physics" label
used by reactionaries.

(That quote is from this article by Chomsky on science
and rationality, which is part of a debate:
http://zena.secureforum.com/Znet/chomsky/articles/95-science.html)

-B.

Chuck Grimes wrote:

"Daniel Dennett, a prominent philosopher of science,
recently said that 'When someone puts forward a
scientific theory that [religious critics] really
don't like, they just try to discredit it as
"scientism"'.[3] In contrast with this was its usage
in the early 20th century, which was as a neutral
descriptive and roughly synonymous with logical positivism.[5]"