I think the average person believes that science is unbiased, and that scientists simply go wherever the evidence leads them. But contrary to popular belief, scientists are people too, with preconceptions and biases that color their thought processes. Below is a quote from noted biologist, Dr Richard Lewontin: Our willingness to accept scientific claims that are against common sense is the key to an understanding of the real struggle between science and the supernatural. We take the side of science in spite of the patent absurdity of some of its constructs, in spite of its failure to fulfill many of its extravagant promises of health and life, in spite of the tolerance of the scientific community for unsubstantiated just-so stories, because we have a prior commitment, a commitment to materialism. It is not that the methods and institutions of science somehow compel us to accept a material explanation of the phenomenal world, but, on the contrary, that we are forced by our a priori adherence to material causes to create an apparatus of investigation and a set of concepts that produce material explanations, no matter how counter-intuitive, no matter how mystifying to the uninitiated. Moreover, that materialism is absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door. Dr Lewontins worldview is materialistic, and he rejects out of hand any evidence that does not conform to his worldview. I applaud his honesty. The entire article from which I pulled the above quote may be found at
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 09:30:46 +0000