The more eloquent and powerful explanation of the difference between science and scientism consist of an image, that of a net, and a story.
(An analogy) [1]: “Sir Arthur S. Eddington, the British astronomer who directed the teams that observed in 1919 the bending of light rays under the effect of gravity (the first important test of Einstein’s general relativity), compared the reach of scientific theories with the size of the holes of a net. An ichthyologist using a net whose holes are one square foot in size can say nothing about the existence and properties of fish that measure less than a foot. In a similar vein, the study of spatiotemporal patterns by means of magnitudes and respectable experiments cannot by itself affirm or deny the existence and value of metaphysics, spirituality, and religion. Thus scientism, which claim that we cannot find meaningful knowledge outside empirical science, is not itself a consequence of empirical science. It is rather the result of illegitimate extrapolations and, insofar as it presents itself as a consequence of science, it is a deceptive and contradictory kind of pseudoscience.” [2]
In Oracles of Science: Celebrity Scientists versus God and Religion [3], Karl Giberson and Mariano Artigas, both physicists and believers, provide an in-depth, comprehensive and sympathetic examination of each of the credentials, and scientific achievements of six scientists (biologists, Stephen Jay Gould, Richard Dawkins, and Edward O. Wilson, and physicists Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, and Steven Weinberg), while, at the same time, distinguishing these from their views on religion. The book shows the importance of distinguishing in order to understand and to unite of philosopher Jacques Maritain. The authors clearly distinguish between science and personal views of the scientists or between science and pseudoscience: in other words, an ideological agenda masquerading as science.
Furthermore, the book eloquently demonstrates that science is perfectly compatible with religion, both from a theoretical and from a practical standpoint. It also shows that these oracles in no way represent the views of the majority of the scientific community. In fact, important leaders of this community have found compatibility between their faith and their scientific pursuits, such as Francis Collins, leader of the genome project, Allan Sandage, one of the greatest astronomers of the twentieth century, physics Nobel laureate William Phillips, and many more.
My favorite quotes from the book are: 1)”There is a world of difference between the `methodological naturalism’ used in the sciences (seeking natural explanations) and an `ontological naturalism’ that denies the reality of anything outside the reach of science. While methodological naturalism has no problems, […] scientific naturalism is self-defeating. The claim that nothing exists aside from what can be studied by the scientific method is a philosophical position. If you want to determine what science is and how far its reach extends, you must place yourself outside science, taking a philosophical perspective. But if there is no territory outside science, how are we going to stand there?” p. 234
2)”We have been describing the Oracles of Science as ambassadors, messengers from the scientific community to the public at large. They play an important role in our scientific culture. We are in sympathy with their scientific findings and their cultural role. We applaud their capacity to communicate challenging ideas and their ability to provoke enthusiasm for the scientific enterprise. We would desire, however, that they would treat the humanistic issues that lie beyond the boundaries of science with the same careful rigor they employ when dealing with scientific problems. This would be a great service to society, effectively undermining the arguments of those who, […] see science as dangerously allied with materialism”. p.234.
Egberto Bermúdez
[1] The analogy appears in pp. 13-14 of The Philosophy of Physical Science. Montreal: Minkowski Institute Press, 2021. By Arthur S. Eddington.
[2] p.239. Mariano Artigas. The Mind of The Universe: Understanding Science and Religion. Philadelphia: Templeton Foundation Press, 2001.
[3] Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2006.
