The Acton Institute’s Powerblog [1] points to interview with University of Georgia communication professor Thomas Lessl [2], who notes that:
…scientific culture has responded to the pressures of patronage by trying to construct a priestly ethos — by suggesting that it is the singular mediator of knowledge, or at least of whatever knowledge has real value, and should therefore enjoy a commensurate authority. If it could get the public to believe this, its power would vastly increase.â€
I think most would agree that science is a means for acquiring knowledge. If you’re bound by a naturalistic [3] view of the world, it quickly becomes the only arbiter of knowledge.
As the sole means of knowledge, the scientist takes on a priestly role, which would fit well with Le Sabot Post-Moderne’s [4] assertion that the treatment of the Inteligent Design movement by many evolutionists is akin to branding them heretics [5].
Perhaps I’ll revisit this in my promised [6] upcoming post on knowledge…