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To: Huber
"Can you provide a citation for your definition of scientism? "

dictionary.com

77 posted on 05/04/2008 5:19:35 PM PDT by GourmetDan (Eccl 10:2 - The heart of the wise inclines to the right, but the heart of the fool to the left.)
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To: GourmetDan

Thank you. In this instance, I’d have to say that a better definition actually can be found on (believe it or not) Wikepedia

“The term scientism can be used as a neutral term to describe the view that natural science has authority over all other interpretations of life, such as philosophical, religious, mythical, spiritual, or humanistic explanations, and over other fields of inquiry, such as the social sciences. It also can imply a criticism of a perceived misapplication or misuse of the authority of science in either of two directions:

1. The term is often used as a pejorative to indicate the improper usage of science or scientific claims. In this sense, the charge of scientism often is used as a counter-argument to appeals to scientific authority in contexts where science might not apply, such as when the topic is perceived to be beyond the scope of scientific inquiry.
2. The term is also used to pejoratively refer to “the belief that the methods of natural science, or the categories and things recognized in natural science, form the only proper elements in any philosophical or other inquiry,” with a concomitant “elimination of the psychological dimensions of experience”. It thus expresses a position critical of (at least the more extreme expressions of) positivism. (Compare: scientific imperialism.)”


79 posted on 05/04/2008 7:48:05 PM PDT by Huber (And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. - John 1:5)
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