Title: Scientism - Wikipedia
Headings: Scientism
Scientism
Contents
Overview
Definitions
Relevance to debates about science and religion
Philosophy of science
Anti-scientism
Pro-scientism
Rhetoric of science
Rationalization and modernity
Media references
See also
References
Bibliography
External links

Content: Scientism - Wikipedia
Scientism
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Belief that scientific method is the only applicable tool over other aspects of fields
Scientism is the promotion of science as the best or only objective means by which society should determine normative and epistemological values. While the term was originally defined to mean "methods and attitudes typical of or attributed to the natural scientist", some religious scholars (and subsequently many others) adopted it as a pejorative with the meaning "an exaggerated trust in the efficacy of the methods of natural science applied to all areas of investigation (as in philosophy, the social sciences, and the humanities)". The term scientism is often used critically, implying an unwarranted application of science in situations considered not amenable to application of the scientific method or similar scientific standards. Contents
1 Overview
2 Definitions
3 Relevance to debates about science and religion
4 Philosophy of science
4.1 Anti-scientism
4.2 Pro-scientism
5 Rhetoric of science
6 Rationalization and modernity
7 Media references
8 See also
9 References
10 Bibliography
11 External links
Overview
In the philosophy of science, the term scientism frequently implies a critique of the more extreme expressions of logical positivism and has been used by social scientists such as Friedrich Hayek, philosophers of science such as Karl Popper, and philosophers such as Mary Midgley, the later Hilary Putnam, and Tzvetan Todorov to describe (for example) the dogmatic endorsement of scientific methodology and the reduction of all knowledge to only that which is measured or confirmatory. More generally, scientism is often interpreted as science applied "in excess". This use of the term scientism has two senses: The improper usage of science or scientific claims. This usage applies equally in contexts where science might not apply, such as when the topic is perceived as beyond the scope of scientific inquiry, and in contexts where there is insufficient empirical evidence to justify a scientific conclusion. It includes an excessive deference to the claims of scientists or an uncritical eagerness to accept any result described as scientific. This can be a counterargument to appeals to scientific authority.