Scientific imperialism

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Scientific imperialism is a term that appears to have been coined by Dr Ellis T Powell when addressing the Commonwealth Club of Canada on 8 September 1920. Though he gave a definition of imperialism as, "the sense of arbitrary and capricious domination over the bodies and souls of men," yet he used the term 'scientific imperialism' to mean "the subjection of all the developed and undeveloped powers of the earth to the mind of man."[1]

In modern parlance, however, scientific imperialism more often means "the tendency to push a good scientific idea far beyond the domain in which it was originally introduced, and often far beyond the domain in which it can provide much illumination." (John Dupre, Against Scientific Imperialism, 2006) It can thus mean an attitude towards knowledge in which the beliefs and methods of science are assumed to be superior to and to take precedence over those of all other disciplines. "Devotees of these approaches are inclined to claim that they are in possession not just of one useful perspective on human behavior, but of the key that will open doors to the understanding of ever wider areas of human behavior."[2]

It is also apparent in "those who believe that the study of politics can and should be modelled on the natural sciences, a position defended most forcibly in the United States, and those who have dissented, viewing this ambition as methodologically unjustified and ethically undesirable."[3]

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[edit] Critique of power

It has also been defined as the "pursuit of power through the pursuit of knowledge,"[4] and its pejorative use arguably reflects the frustration felt by some with "the limitations of reductive scientism (scientific imperialism)."[5] And "the myth that science is the model of truth and rationality still grips the mind of much of our popular and scientific culture. Even though philosophers of science over the past few decades have gutted many of the claims of this scientific imperialism, many thinkers, knee-jerk agnostics, and even judges persist in the grip of this notion."[6] Such critics of science even question whether we should "automatically assume...that successful scientific theories are true or approximately true models of the world," [7] and periodically express a desire to "dethrone science from an imperialistic stance over philosophy and theology."[8]

[edit] Unreal expectations

It is claimed that some scientists harbour "unreal expectations and mistaken assumptions, their hubris and their imperialism,"[9] in the sense that they wish to extend the methods and ideology of science into all regions of human investigation.

[edit] Religion of intellectuals

Scientific imperialism, "the idea that all decisions, in principle, can be made scientifically - has become, in effect, the religion of the intellectuals," [Staddon] for it is doubtless "a natural tendency, when one has a successful scientific model, to attempt to apply it to as many problems as possible. But it is also in the nature of models that these extended applications are dangerous."[10]

This attitude can come to involve power, coercion and domination over other disciplines. In its most virulent forms it can seek to intimidate and subordinate 'non-believers,' or those it perceives as being insufficently educated in the ways of science. It can thus involve some zealotry, an over-adherance to strict dogma and a rather fundamentalist belief that science alone stands supreme over all other modes of inquiry. In this it may come close to gangsterism and cultural imperialism. It may then be seen as a rigid and intolerant form of intellectual monotheism.

[edit] Marginalised

People who do not stress this absolute domination of science or who are more laissez-faire in their attitude, perhaps displaying insufficient science zeal, may find themselves marginalised, deviantised and even demonised as wimps, half-baked, freaks, as religious romantics and as irrational. Only those who adhere strictly to the dogmas of the science 'mother church' are accorded the greatest credibility and reverence. Such behaviour clearly seeks to extol the virtues of the scientific paradigm over all other viewpoints and modes of interpreting Nature, the world and human behaviour. This attitude tends to foster a patronising and arrogant notion that scientists belong to an elite class of people who deal with matters of much greater importance than the average person, or that they are educated and initiated into matters that are quite beyond the understanding of ordinary folks.

[edit] In medicine

Another meaning of this term is shown when it is claimed that "poor people in developing countries are being exploited in research for the benefit of patients in the developed world."[11] In such an example, then it is clear that, "the scientific community has a responsibility to ensure that all scientific research is conducted ethically."[12]

Another example lies in the alleged misappropriation of indiginous drugs in poor countries by drug companies in the developed world: "Ethnopharmacology involves a series of sociopolitical, economic and ethical dilemmas, at various levels...frequently host country scientists, visiting scientists, and informants disagree...research efforts are (often) perceived as scientific imperialism; scientists are accused of stealing plant materials and appropriating traditional plant knowledge for financial profit and/or professional advancement. Many governments, as well as indigenous societies are increasingly reluctant to permit such research...historically neither native populations nor host countries have shared to a significant extent the financial benefits from any drug that reaches the market...unless these issues are amply discussed and fairy resolved, medicinal plant research runs the risk of serving ethically questionable purposes."[13]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Scientific Imperialism an Address, Delivered by Ellis T. Powell, LL.B. D.Sc. http://www.empireclubfoundation.com/details.asp?SpeechID=2359&FT=yes
  2. ^ John Dupre, Against Scientific Imperialism http://cogprints.org/342/
  3. ^ Duncan Bell, Beware of false prophets: biology, human nature and the future of International Relations theory, International Affairs 82 (3), May 2006, 493–510 http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2346.2006.00547.x
  4. ^ The Scientific Voyages of Captain Cook http://www2.wwnorton.com/college/history/worlds/ch5/summary6.htm
  5. ^ Arthur Peacocke, Theology for a Scientific Age: Being and Becoming-Natural, Divine and Human http://www.amazon.com/Theology-Scientific-Age-Becoming-Natural-Sciences/dp/0800627598
  6. ^ J P Moreland, Christianity and the Nature of Science: A Philosophical Investigation, (1989) http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/index.html?mainframe=/webfiles/ antithesis/v1n1/ant_v1n1_book2.html
  7. ^ J P Moreland, Christianity and the Nature of Science: A Philosophical Investigation, (1989) http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/index.html?mainframe=/webfiles/a ntithesis/v1n1/ant_v1n1_book2.html
  8. ^ J P Moreland, Christianity and the Nature of Science: A Philosophical Investigation, (1989) http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/index.html?mainframe=/webfiles/antithesis/v1n1/ant_v1n1_book2.html
  9. ^ Ted Nield, The Madness of Scientists - scientific misunderstanding of public and media http://themadnessofscientists.blogspot.com/2006/07/fit-fifth-education-is-not-public.html
  10. ^ John Dupré: The Disunity of Science (2006) Interviewed by Paul Newall http://www.galilean-library.org/dupre.html
  11. ^ Peter Wilmshurst, Editorial, Scientific imperialism, British Medical Journal, 22 March 1997 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/314/7084/840
  12. ^ Peter Wilmshurst, Editorial, Scientific imperialism, British Medical Journal, 22 March 1997 http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/314/7084/840
  13. ^ E Elisabetsky, Sociopolitical, economical and ethical issues in medicinal plant research, J Ethnopharmacol, 1991 Apr; 32 (1-3): 235-9 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&list_uids=1881163&dopt=Citation

[edit] See also

Antiscience, Antireductionism, Anti-science

[edit] External links

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