scientism

George Orwell once quipped that “no event is ever correctly reported in a newspaper.” Orwell, who penned the classic dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, was undoubtedly aware that the best stories — especially science fiction — are those that contain just enough truth to have the air of plausibility. If one were to believe the news media, 2010 was a banner Read More ›

Militant atheism is on the rise. Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris, Daniel Dennett, and Christopher Hitchens have dominated bestseller lists with books denigrating religious belief as dangerous foolishness. And these authors are merely the leading edge of a far larger movement–one that now includes much of the scientific community. “The attack on traditional religious thought,” writes David Berlinski in The Devil’s Delusion, “marks Read More ›

In a controversial new book, David Berlinski tears apart the facade of scientific overconfidence. When it comes to some of life’s most profound questions — the origins of life, of matter, of the universe itself — does modern science already have everything all figured out? Many scientists would like us to think they are mere steps away from solving all Read More ›

Set to inspirational choir music and glorious scenes of a rugged green shoreline, Carl Sagan opened his television documentary Cosmos by declaring that “the Cosmos is all that is, or ever was, or ever will be.” The famous astronomer then outlined a plan for humanity’s salvation: For the first time, we have the power to decide the fate of our Read More ›

David Berlinski’s new book describes the remarkable extent to which the dominant religion of the intelligentsia is now “science.” This new religion — which is based on atheism and materialism — is actually better termed “scientism,” since its religious claims far overreach its scientific content. Scientism reflects the tendency of scientists to become what Ortega y Gasset called “barbarians of Read More ›

This impressive volume contains critical essays on naturalism from the perspectives of theology, ethics, cosmology, ontology, and epistemology. Various Discovery Fellows make contributions including Robert C. Koons, J.P. Moreland, William Lane Craig, and William Dembski. Koons, a professor of philosophy at the University of Texas, begins by noting that there is a simple correlation between existence and the requirement of Read More ›

In Consumer’s Guide to a Brave New World, Discovery Institute Senior Fellow, attorney, and bioethicist Wesley J. Smith asks the simple but difficult question, “should the importance of human life be sacrificed for the potential advancement of human technology?” So provocative are Smith’s ideas, that his writings have led to a quote on Starbucks coffee cups! Cloning researchers claim to Read More ›