Problems of Men by John Dewey

Author:John Dewey [Dewey, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Philosophical Library/Open Road
Published: 2013-10-09T16:00:00+00:00

2

THE REVOLT AGAINST SCIENCE

It would be a waste of time to argue that at the present time we are in the presence of a widespread revolt against science, for its presence is obvious in almost every field. In education it takes the form of setting the humanities up against the sciences, accompanied with the clamorous assertion that all the ailments and failures of the present school system—numerous and serious beyond a peradventure—are the result of subordination of the “humanities” to the sciences. And if I place quotation marks about the word humanities it is because the attack which is made in this field proceeds from teachers of literary subjects and proceeds by identification of the humane with the linguistic and literary.

Upon the side of theory, of pseudo-philosophy, the attack rests upon calling the sciences “materialistic” while literary subjects are identified with whatever is idealistic and “spiritual” in our traditions and institutions. This position rests back upon belief in the separation of man from nature. Man is taken not only as lord over nature but as lord in its oldest and most discredited sense—that of a despotic monarch supposed to rule by mere fiat. This separation, the most fundamental of all forms of isolationism, completely ignores the daily interests and concerns of the great mass of human beings which are bound up in the most intimate way with the conditions of nature they have to face—conditions which so largely affect their welfare and destiny as human beings. Anyone who will allow himself to observe the spectacle offered to view by the great mass of human beings in the matter of making and having a decent living alone will be aware of the monstrous insolence of identification of the humanities with linguistics and literatures.

The fact, however, that the identification is made, and that the indictment of the sciences is then made to depend upon it, is intensely illuminating. It spotlights the background of the revolt against science; it delineates the genuinely human values and ends at stake, and points to the only road which leads to a genuine and not a sham advancement of humanism. With reference to the background, with reference to the source of the revolt, it points straight to those who have “authority” against movements which threaten their supremacy by ushering in a new, wider and more humane order. Fundamentally, the attack proceeds from representatives of those who have enjoyed the power of control and regulation of other human beings because of the existing setup in political, ecclesiastical and economic institutions. Superficially, and more vocally, it proceeds from teachers who find that their place and prestige in the educational system is being impaired, and who innocently, that is ignorantly, do the work of campfollowers.

It will be found significant as well as interesting to compare the present revolt against science with the earlier movement that bears the name of “Conflict of Science and Religion.” In that earlier warfare, attacks upon science hinged upon certain general conclusions reached by the sciences, first in astronomical and finally in biological science.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.