Tuesday, October 07, 2003

And the point is... 

...the scientific method is to be taught, not a conservative or liberal viewpoint. So says an opinion article in the Rocky Mountain News, which has been discussing the Academic Bill of Rights. Students for Academic Freedom, authors of the bill, have a full story. The latest article, authored by three professors at Metro State in Denver, probably aren't fans of Rep. Davnie in the story just below this.
Knowledge has advanced for the last several hundred years by the scientific method - in which the truth is based on testing a hypothesis, retesting and evaluating evidence. Rational argument is the foundation of scholarly inquiry.

Unfortunately, too many liberal arts departments in Colorado are now dominated by faculty who are fervently opposed to rational discourse - and even opposed to the notion that a theory can be labeled "true" or "false." Instead, these professors embrace the principle that truth does not exist. Their rule is sometimes called "relativism" or "post-modernism" or "deconstructionism" or some other multisyllabic "ism."

The basic point of this outlook is that there is no "truth," and it is pointless to go searching for it. All "truths" are equal and anyone stating otherwise is deluding himself and imposing his biased view on others. Judgment is forbidden, and since there is no objective measuring stick, nearly everything is permitted.
And never, ever, put a capital T on Truth.

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