Saturday, May 29, 2004
THE ANTI-ENLIGHTENMENT
Here's a review of a book about the rising tide of spiritual mumbo-jumbo and general anti-science, written from a British perspective. The author
reckons we're living through a counter-revolution against the Enlightenment, that revolution in human affairs when reason was elevated over tradition and superstition to become, in the words of one author, 'the arbiter of truth and the foundation of objective knowledge'. 'The Enlightenment brought us out of the dark', says Wheen. 'Now we seem to be heading back in.' In his book he celebrates the Enlightenment's gains - how it led to the 'waning of absolutism and superstition, the rise of secular democracy, the transformation of historical and scientific study'. The Enlightenment put us centre stage, says Wheen, as the makers of history and destiny. 'Yet now, 200 years later, there are people who believe their Tuesday mornings are determined by the alignment of the planets'.
This book seems to precisely echo the ideas I expressed in this speech I gave three years ago. I've linked to this a few times before here because it remains the most detailed statement I've made to date of my view of where the world is these days. Had I had more time, I suppose it would have become a book; basically the book reviewed at the link listed above...
GB, THHotA
posted by Greg 8:16 AM
