Video: Science in an Age of Unreason

National Association of Scholars

Science is premised on the Enlightenment virtue of reason: that the universe is a rational place that can be understood through reason, logic, and unbiased observation. Science arose in opposition to the Romantic ideal of the universe: that intuition and emotion are better guides to understanding the universe.

In the last two decades, science has been under siege by the forces of post-modernism. For a time, science held its own, but post-modernism has largely won the day, even at institutions, like MIT, supposedly dedicated entirely to the scientific way of thinking. What will be the future of science?

The webinar features John Staddon, James B. Duke Professor of Psychology and Emeritus Professor of Biology and Neurobiology at Duke University and author of the new book Science in an Age of Unreason. The discussion is moderated by J. Scott Turner, Director of the Intrusion of Diversity in the Sciences Project for NAS.


Image:  Alina Grubnyak, Public Domain

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