I will respond to this at length later, but at the very least it seems to me that challenging prevailing scientific paradigms and getting captured by illiberal ideologies, are not the same thing.
I will respond to this at length later, but at the very least it seems to me that challenging prevailing scientific paradigms and getting captured by illiberal ideologies, are not the same thing.
I didn't say, and hope I did not imply that they are! What I intended to say is that Science is no less susceptible to capture by nonsense than any other branch of what considers itself Academia. I agree with Ute Heggen's comment on the contemporary university, but would replace "radical" by "that which supports the position of powerful interest groups." Follow the money to find who gains from the promotion of an ideology.
My own pet example of entrenched dogma in biomedical science is the "germ theory of disease" that casts microbes in the mould of mediaeval demons, exceptionalises humans (much as gender theory does!) and is at the root of the mysophobia and coprophobia of public health pronouncements.
I will respond to this at length later, but at the very least it seems to me that challenging prevailing scientific paradigms and getting captured by illiberal ideologies, are not the same thing.
I didn't say, and hope I did not imply that they are! What I intended to say is that Science is no less susceptible to capture by nonsense than any other branch of what considers itself Academia. I agree with Ute Heggen's comment on the contemporary university, but would replace "radical" by "that which supports the position of powerful interest groups." Follow the money to find who gains from the promotion of an ideology.
My own pet example of entrenched dogma in biomedical science is the "germ theory of disease" that casts microbes in the mould of mediaeval demons, exceptionalises humans (much as gender theory does!) and is at the root of the mysophobia and coprophobia of public health pronouncements.
You don't believe in "germs" or bacteria/viruses? Gee, what is this, 1853?
Read my post rather than jumping to conclusions.