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6 Signs That You Are Engaged In Scientism
The term ‘scientism’ is thrown around a lot. But what exactly is the concept? And, is the concept correct? These two questions are important to answer if the discussion is to be meaningful (or meaningfully improved).
Two Dogmas of Scientism¹
The issue is that there seem to be two forms of scientism: weak and strong. Strong scientism says that science is the only way to acquire knowledge, but weak scientism says that science is the best way to acquire knowledge.
What should be said about strong scientism? Well, if one defines science broadly, nobody would disagree; however, if science is defined in a narrow sense, then disagreement is bound to manifest. If science is defined narrowly, strong scientism is notoriously self-refuting. In other words, what is the scientific evidence that scientism is correct? Exactly, there isn’t any. To be clear, there is a difference between scientism and science. But back to the point, strong scientism can’t be correct because it shoots itself in the foot. What other problems are there for strong scientism (SS)? Another problem for SS is that it seems way too restrictive about knowledge. In other words, doesn’t it seem that there are other forms of knowledge besides scientific knowledge? For example, isn’t there such a thing as aesthetic knowledge? Ethical knowledge? Historical knowledge? I…
