Science is in crisis. Our society has always had to deal with a fringe of individuals who deny facts and evidence. But with the advent of the internet, these individuals have organized into groups that have proven skillful at twisting reality, gaining supporters, and harnessing the power that comes with numbers. We have seen an unprecedented surge in those who deny, for example, that vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines, are effective or necessary, and in those who deny that global warming is real. The polarization in our society and the politization of issues has also produced various levels of denial of reality. These range from claiming that the COVID-19 pandemic is a hoax or its severity exaggerated, to skepticism regarding the results of the 2020 election or the bizarre QAnon world view. The individuals championing these views harbor a motley assortment of ideas and ideologies, but they all have one thing in common: they attack science and scientists. Why is this the case?
In the theology of the Christian philosopher Saint Augustine, he identified two different but complementary types of reasoning: ratio sapientiae, and ratio scientiae. Ratio sapientiae deals with knowledge of the divinity, whereas ratio scientiae deals with knowledge of the physical world. Saint Augustine believed that the physical world displayed certain patterns and regularities that we could discover by employing ratio scientiae, and time has proven him right. Science is the embodiment of ratio scientiae. Science is the most successful method we have to discover the truth about the behavior of matter and energy in the universe, and the most obvious proof of this is in the many applications that science has generated, which range from technology and medicines that we all use, to ways of viewing the world around us and thinking about it.
Thus, it is because science works that science and scientists have to be attacked. Those that peddle conspiracy theories and associated agendas know very well that science can prove them wrong. Because of this, science has to be disqualified and scientists portrayed as dishonest and sold out to special interests in the eyes of sufficient numbers of people to make a difference. In this our age, our time, the enemies of reason are storming the ramparts of science, and it is up to us to prevent them from triumphing.
This website is devoted to the defense of science against conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and antiscience. This website is devoted to ratio scientiae.
Having said that, I don’t want my narrative to be one long, serious, boring rant against those that disguise their fiction as science (the wrong type of fiction). So not only do I try to explain science in a clear, fun, and accessible way, but I also provide examples of the right type of fiction (that which doesn’t pretend to be science).
I hope you like my website. Science on!
R. Garcia
Blue wild flower of Cichorium intybus by Alvesgaspar, used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0). Assorted Ice bergs Thule Greenland by Drew Avery used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) wings open by Rene Mensen used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient by NIAID used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Sumatran Tiger by Tm used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Eruption at Fimmvörðuháls at dusk by Boa worm used under an Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license. Eta Carinae Nebula by ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R.Gendler, J-E. Ovaldsen, C. Thöne, and C. Feron. Used under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Lightning by the Oregon Department of Transportation used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. All the images were obtained from Wikipedia Commons and they have been modified.
In the theology of the Christian philosopher Saint Augustine, he identified two different but complementary types of reasoning: ratio sapientiae, and ratio scientiae. Ratio sapientiae deals with knowledge of the divinity, whereas ratio scientiae deals with knowledge of the physical world. Saint Augustine believed that the physical world displayed certain patterns and regularities that we could discover by employing ratio scientiae, and time has proven him right. Science is the embodiment of ratio scientiae. Science is the most successful method we have to discover the truth about the behavior of matter and energy in the universe, and the most obvious proof of this is in the many applications that science has generated, which range from technology and medicines that we all use, to ways of viewing the world around us and thinking about it.
Thus, it is because science works that science and scientists have to be attacked. Those that peddle conspiracy theories and associated agendas know very well that science can prove them wrong. Because of this, science has to be disqualified and scientists portrayed as dishonest and sold out to special interests in the eyes of sufficient numbers of people to make a difference. In this our age, our time, the enemies of reason are storming the ramparts of science, and it is up to us to prevent them from triumphing.
This website is devoted to the defense of science against conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, and antiscience. This website is devoted to ratio scientiae.
Having said that, I don’t want my narrative to be one long, serious, boring rant against those that disguise their fiction as science (the wrong type of fiction). So not only do I try to explain science in a clear, fun, and accessible way, but I also provide examples of the right type of fiction (that which doesn’t pretend to be science).
I hope you like my website. Science on!
R. Garcia
Blue wild flower of Cichorium intybus by Alvesgaspar, used under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0). Assorted Ice bergs Thule Greenland by Drew Avery used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Blue Morpho butterfly (Morpho peleides) wings open by Rene Mensen used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient by NIAID used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Sumatran Tiger by Tm used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. Eruption at Fimmvörðuháls at dusk by Boa worm used under an Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0) license. Eta Carinae Nebula by ESO/IDA/Danish 1.5 m/R.Gendler, J-E. Ovaldsen, C. Thöne, and C. Feron. Used under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license. Lightning by the Oregon Department of Transportation used under an Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0) license. All the images were obtained from Wikipedia Commons and they have been modified.