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The Suppression of Unorthodox Science 183
IX. That Science is the highest value.
The metaprinciple that there is no contradiction in contradictory principles,
is invoked with a high frequency in all organized religions; and, as
a religion, Science is nothing if not organized, perhaps the most highly
organized in the history of organized religion. One can well imagine, for
example, that the author of this essay, sick unto dying from the gangrene
of functional employment, would derive quite a lot of satisfaction and a
good income by joining the ranks of Walter Sullivan, James Gleick, Gina
Kolata, Isaac Asimov and so on, by writing a science column for some
magazine or daily newspaper.
This is indeed true, the trouble being that he is unable to pay homage to
the drivel demanded by the Religion of Science, a spiritually emaciated cult
worship of such universal acceptance that "science writing," "science proselytizing,"
and "science worship," are inseparable in the public consciousness.
The Article of Faith which requires us to believe that "Science," as a
metaphysic and mass opiate, is the highest and most enduring value, has
prevailed over the past two centuries so that it has turned almost all of our
schools and colleges, and certainly all of our big universities, into either
technical schools or research institutes. Things have changed very little
since twelfth-century Sorbonne, when Theology was lord of all, and all
other intellectual endeavors had to go begging. It is only the name of the
game which is different.
In today's schools, Philosophy has been reduced to an inane obsession
with sententious doubt. Letters apologizes for its very existence. There's
no money in an English degree, and the teaching of Languages for any
profession outside the diplomatic corps has fallen to such a low level that
even the pampered scientists of our day are in danger of losing their grasp
on the scientific treasures of the past five hundred years, almost all of
which were written in Latin and Greek—indeed, scientists in today's
America can't even speak a good French, German or Russian, something
unimaginable seventy years ago.
Culture is ridiculed with a sorry yawn; mathematicians, physicists,
biologists, or even chemists who imagine themselves on the slashing edge
of knowledge will make comments about modern art, music or poetry that
a poor lonesome cowboy, far from the centers of learning and art, would
be ashamed to utter.
Such is the power of faith.
X. That non-scientific thought is ignorant, superstitious or crazy and merits
ridicule and even persecution.
Read Stephen Hawking's Brie] History of Time. His account of the history
of Science is factually threadbare - yet quite valuable in presenting
the "Standard Model" of European Science: every advance was halted by