Saturday, September 20, 2014

Fear of Science



Many people react negatively to the idea that moral principles can be inferred entirely using scientific method. There is a general feeling that this is impossible. This seems to be partly why quite a lot of people view the decline of traditional sources of moral instruction as a serious threat. This is a major, double mistake.

In August last year, I attended an event, 'Answers in Science,' at Houston Museum of Natural Science, aimed at raising awareness of the way that a number of christian fundamentalists have been trying to sabotage the quality of scientific education in Texas schools. Among several that spoke there, two people raised points that struck me as highly significant, given the line of thought I've been pursuing for some time, with regard to the relationship between science and morality. They were Kathy Miller, from Texas Freedom Network, and Mike Aus, a former pastor.