#+title: science is not the sole source of knowledge
- tags :: [[file:20210310112616-philosophy_of_science.org][philosophy of science]]

[[file:20210720192702-logical_positivism.org][Logical positivism]] claims that all we can say definitively about the world is
through [[file:20200721210255-science.org][science]].

Although there is a very obvious utility to science, the best science could do
is explain the /objective/. Science works very hard to remove the subjective
from it. But science does not speak to the subjective and has much difficulty
doing so in the areas where it tries, such as in [[file:20210720193219-psychology.org][psychology]].

But I think there is more to life than just what science can say. Science cannot
speak to the sublime, or to thrill or love, or the parts of life that make life
exciting. Science does not have much to say about a good movie.

Similarly, the [[file:20210720193512-institution_of_science.org][institution of science]] has a problem with [[file:20200720202354-ideology.org][ideology]]: science is
often used not for the pure pursuit of truth but for capitalistic ends. When
science is synonymous with "the truth", science can come to mean anything that
fits an agenda. A subtle example is the so-called "biology as ideology", that
different races of people are somehow inherently different based on their
biological race alone. Following this to its logical conclusion can end up
legitimizing racist projects, as is what happened with [[file:20210720200716-eugenics.org][eugenics]] in the [[file:20210330201641-united_states.org][United
States]] and [[file:20200713212425-nazis.org][Nazi Germany]]. A more pernicious example is using science to justify
the continued use of fossil fuels in the face of ever-devastating [[file:20210427204037-climate_change.org][climate
change]].