Resistance

GERMAR RUDOLF, RESISTANCE IS OBLIGATORYThis point illustrates the sociological background of this trial. As aconsequence of this present day German taboo, no individual in our societycan express himself rationally, objectively and candidly about thistaboo, because either he complies with it and is thereby biased, or elsehe is under a permanent threat of exclusion, persecution and of beinghimself taboo-ized, hence finding himself in a state of duress. This is ofcourse particularly true of you as judges in this criminal trial.For the scientist, however, taboos are strictly unacceptable.The two non-negotiable main pillars of scientific endeavor are therefore:1. Freedom of Hypothesis: At the beginning of the quest for creatingknowledge any question may be asked. Doubt as the intellectual basisof all humans can be expressed as a simple question: “Is this reallytrue?” Thus curiosity is nothing other than reason posing questionsin search of answers. In scientific research there are manyterms for these questions, as for example “research desiderata,” allof which ultimately come to the same thing.2. Undetermined Outcome: The answers to research questions can bedetermined exclusively by verifiable evidence. They cannot be determinedby taboos or official guidelines laid down by scientific, societal,religious, political, judicial or other authorities. This is inkeeping with Kant’s maturity described above, that is, the ideal ofthe enlightenment.If answers to scientific questions are prescribed, then posing questionsis degraded to a mere rhetorical farce, and science becomes impossible.This is therefore not just an undermining of the essential natureof science, but its complete abolition.The greater a taboo and the more severe the persecution of taboobreakersare, the more appropriate and even required are skepticism,doubt, and distrust. Those who forcefully try to prevent critical illuminationof such taboos must be asked how many skeletons they are tryingto hide in their own basements.In this regard, the German physicist George Christoph Lichtenbergvery fittingly remarked: 72“The most common opinions and what everyone considers unquestionableoften deserve most to be investigated.”7260Georg Christoph Lichtenberg, Vermischte Schriften, vol. 1, Dieterich, Göttingen 1853, p. 98.