Neil deGrasse Tyson’s Science Without Philosophy?
Big Bang Theory falls on its own petard.
The current godfather and guardian of the cosmogonical paradigm has just been chastised for his wholesale dismissal of philosophy. In doing this much needed job on Tyson, Benjamin Cain, who has a Ph.D. in philosophy, gives a new definition for the word “scientism.” In the past, that word has been used by religious folks to denigrate the scientific method as the only way to establish truth. I like Cain’s definition a lot, and will use it in the future. There is a telling reason Tyson and his compatriots claim to have no use for philosophy.
The reason for the dismissal is clear: Bad Philosophy! Here is my definition of scientism adapted from Cain’s initiation: Scientism is use of the scientific method for making truth claims while being ignorant of the underlying fundamental assumptions.
In other words, regressive physicists and cosmogonists are quite happy with their story. It brings riches and fame galore. The public seems to love their fantastic, colorful claims. Sure, the contradictions and paradoxes are vaguely troublesome, but so far there seems to be no reason to dig deeper to find out why. Ignorance sometimes can be bliss.
So why is the “underlying metaphysics” the culprit in the mess Tyson stepped in? That…
