The improper use 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. It can also address attempts to apply natural science methods and claims of certainty to the social sciences, which Friedrich Hayek described in The Counter-Revolution of Science (1952) as being impossible, because those methods attempt to eliminate the "human factor", while social sciences (including his own topic of economics) mainly concern the study of human action. "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", or that "science, and only science, describes the world as it is in itself, independent of perspective" with a concomitant "elimination of the psychological [and spiritual] dimensions of experience". Tom Sorell provides this definition: "Scientism is a matter of putting too high a value on natural science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture." Philosophers such as Alexander Rosenberg have also adopted "scientism" as a name for the opinion that science is the only reliable source of knowledge.
The improper use 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 It can also address attempts to apply natural science methods and claims of certainty to the social sciences which Friedrich Hayek described in The Counter-Revolution of Science (1952) as being impossible because those methods attempt to eliminate the "human factor" while social sciences (including his own topic of economics) mainly concern the study of human action "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" or that "science and only science describes the world as it is in itself independent of perspective" with a concomitant "elimination of the psychological [and spiritual] dimensions of experience" Tom Sorell provides this definition "Scientism is a matter of putting too high a value on natural science in comparison with other branches of learning or culture" Philosophers such as Alexander Rosenberg have also adopted "scientism" as a name for the opinion that science is the only reliable source of knowledge