Customer Reviews

Science and the Myth of Progress (Perennial Philosophy)

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While most people (in the United States, at least) would say they believe in God when asked, no one would argue that traditional spiritual beliefs are on the decline, and religious believers are frequently ostracized as backward. Churches, in an ever-frantic bid to make their doctrine more "relevant" to the modern age, make more concessions to modernity with every passing year (the result is often tragicomic attempts to make religion interesting or palatable to the masses in the form of books such as the "Gospel According to the Simpsons" and other such tripe.) The beliefs of the average person even fifty years ago are now the subject of ridicule, even though the vast majority of people have little or no understanding of science at all. (Try taking a random poll at the mall and see how many people in a hundred know what punctuated equilibrium or the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle is.)

Meanwhile, the technocratic establishment possesses a hegemony that is absolutely unprecedented in world history. One cannot issue an opinion on a matter unless in the possession of the appropriate "credentials", and something can be derided as obsolete if it is labeled "unscientific." Should we consider the ascendancy of reductionist science to be some sort of triumphal progress from earlier eras of darkness and barbarism? Or have we merely substituted one dogmatism for a more perilous one?

The essayists in _Science and the Myth of Progress_ answer the latter question in the affirmative. Carl Jung once stated that "you can take away a man's gods, only to give him others in return." When seen in this light, there's very little doubt that the Dawkins/Shermer/Sagan/_Skeptic_ Magazine crowd represent Grand Inquisitors in our current "reign of quantity". Unfortunately, most of the essays that attempt to link science with spirituality (such as _Zygon_ Magazine) usually cede the high ground to science, then timidly try to show how "new developments in quantum physics" or "morphogenetic fields" show that there is now a scientific basis for religion. What's so refreshing about _Science and the Myth of Progress_ is that it refuses to water down the traditional doctrines in hopes that science will accommodate them; it instead proposes to return science to its rightful role as a *tool*, not an end in and of itself.

Highlights include "Sacred and Profane Science" by Rene Guenon, which shows how traditional ("sacred") science tied its knowledge to a higher spiritual reality; "Traditional Cosmology and the Modern World" by Titus Burckhardt, who clears up the misunderstandings that arose from traditional notions of man as the "center" of the universe, and Wendell Berry's "Ignorance", which makes a passionate plea for science to become subservient to human values, not to dictate them. Other prominent authors, such as Fritjhof Schuon, Huston Smith, and Wolfgang Smith are also represented here. Most of these articles are from out-of-print books and academic journal articles, and given the latter, don't expect some of this to necessarily be beach reading. My only disappointment was that an excerpt from Martin Lings' "Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions" wasn't included. (Perhaps in Volume II?)

No, this isn't the antidote for the Kali Yuga, but it is an excellent and lively collection of essays for those so inclined. In close, let me offer a quote from Rene Guenon: "Modern science, arising out of an arbitrary limitation of knowledge within a certain particular order which is indeed the most inferior of all, namely that of material or sensible reality, has as a consequence forfeited all intellectual value, so long that is to say as one uses the word intellectuality in all the fullness of its true meaning and refuses to participate in the `rationalist' error, or to reject intellectual intuition, which amounts to the same thing."

This book is valuable in that it is a good overall review of various arguments against materialism and scientism that seems so well established and anchored in our modern world view. This book will help start ripping out those deep dry roots. A new dimension and view of reality will start opening up and you will see that your concept of reality has been so limited by modern science and that existence is much more profound and mysterious than the materialist philosophy conveyed to you in school and popular culture. You can skip around and read on various subjects. Some of the chapters are excellent and its a good introduction to the various authors that champion the traditionalist philosophy and metaphysics.

"Science and the myth of progress" is an anthology criticizing modern science in general and the theory of evolution in particular from a mostly Traditionalist or Perennialist viewpoint. Excerpts from the works of Fritjof Schuon, René Guenon and S. Hossein Nasr are prominently featured. A few authors who aren't Traditionalists have also been included. Thus, there is a lengthy contribution by William Dembski from the creationist Discovery Institute.

Needless to say, I disagree with almost everything in this volume. True, the issues are complex: how far can reductionism in science meaningfully go, what is the connection between this reductionism and environmental destruction, is "Occham's razor" really that obvious, are materialist explanations the only possible explanations, etc. However, the answers offered by the authors of this volume are very "ancient" or "medieval", something they would probably wholeheartedly admit themselves. Thomism, Neo-Platonist emanationism, occult correspondences between the macrocosm and the microcosm, Intelligent Design and ideas similar to Theosophy are proposed as the alternative to modern science and "scientism". The authors seem to accept the standard creationist arguments about irreducible complexity, lack of transitional forms etc.

However, my main objection to this volume is that it feels very heterogenous. Only a few articles deal with what seems to be the main point of the anthology: that materialism in science has made the modern world go astray, that "progress" is really an illusion, and that a return to some kind of spirituality is therefore called for. The various authors also have somewhat divergent perspectives. Some argue that the modern worldview is too subjective and relativistic, others seem to suggest the opposite: precisely because all perspectives are subjective, modern science cannot have a monopoly on truth. The most thoughtful contribution comes from Wendell Berry, who simply wants more humility and admission of ignorance, a position at least some scientists would be able to agree with. (The rest are still busy trying to build a humanoid robot, clone a Martian, or whatever.) Finally, there are some contributions whose inclusion I honestly didn't get, such as the criticism of C.G. Jung. Still, it was of some interest. I assumed Traditionalists would be positive towards Jung!

Had I been in a worse mood, I would have given "Science and the myth of progress" two stars, but to keep peace around here, I nevertheless give it three... ;-)