r/ScientismToday

544 archived posts · Apr 2013 – May 2025

For inquiry into scientism

r/ScientismToday

This subreddit is dedicated to inquiry into scientism: if it exists, and if it does, what are its instances and what to do about supporting, managing, suppressing or eradicating it. The moderators are currently convinced scientism exists and is widespread enough so as to present serious challenges to open, free and intelligent inquiry. However, differing viewpoints are welcome and will not be suppressed insofar as they relate to the topic of this subreddit and are not hateful or illegal.

Created Apr 7, 2013 · restricted

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544Archived posts

This subreddit are dedicated to inquiry into scientism: if it exists, and if it does, what are its instances and what to do about supporting, managing, suppressing or eradicating it.

The moderator is currently convinced scientism exists and is widespread enough so as to present serious challenges to open, free and intelligent inquiry. However, differing viewpoints are welcome and will not be suppressed insofar as they relate to the topic of this subreddit and are not hateful or illegal. The moderator prefers that discussions not devolve into circle jerks and thoughtless attacks and assumes the community will rise above these sorts of antics.

What is scientism?

There are a few ways of answering this question.

The dictionary definition is as follows: the belief that the assumptions, methods of research, etc., of the physical and biological sciences are equally appropriate and essential to all other disciplines, including the humanities and the social sciences.

Here's a link to a pdf article delineating six signs of scientism by English Professor of Philosophy and Law at the University of Miami, Susan Haack: (http://pervegalit.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/haack-six-signs-of-scientism-october-17-2009.pdf)

Hermeneutically speaking, scientism is a word which is used to label the apparent attempt by the scientific community and/or academia to gain an unreasonable measure of control over the ideas pursued by their peers and the efforts made to dismiss, disrupt, defame or slander those who question the consensus view of the scientific body of knowledge.

Guidelines

1: Refrain from assuming a link to a post necessarily means the poster condones or condemns the content of the linked article. Worldviews are usually more nuanced than they appear.

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