tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post7164606999348428114..comments2023-10-24T04:29:23.693-06:00Comments on Atheist Ethicist: Promoting Science: Demand-Side ReformAlonzo Fyfehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05687777216426347054noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-9539630086788860242008-12-17T10:41:00.000-07:002008-12-17T10:41:00.000-07:00So far in my life, taking the suggested approach h...So far in my life, taking the suggested approach has cost me 2 wives and a number of friends. Looking back, I would not have done it any other way. Evil, and ignorance, triumphs when good men, or at least intelligent men, stay silent. Scientists can not financially employ the same "troops" to promote the truth as those corporations and governments who would profit from societies comfortable ignorance.antonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02909850387414677663noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16594468.post-53275006061218955052008-12-17T10:18:00.000-07:002008-12-17T10:18:00.000-07:00I usually try to understand others' points of view...I usually try to understand others' points of view, especially when they seem rather misguided. That way I may be able to assess the roots of their false beliefs, and have some hope of convincing them to change their views.<BR/><BR/>My wife, however, usually goes straight for name calling. She'll be delighted to know there's an ethical system that employs her preferred method of operation. 8^)<BR/><BR/>More seriously, I think it's true that a vital component of science, critical thinking, has fallen out of favor in today's society. What's been substituted is the cult of the anti-establishment maverick, who writes books and gives lectures on how the "truth" about vaccines (bigfoot, UFOs, 9/11, etc.) is being covered up by Big Pharma (scientists, the military, the U.S. government).<BR/><BR/>I'm concerned that the supply side, the side that can educate the public on the differences between science and pseudoscience, is dwindling in response to low demand. Science is one of the only assets the U.S. has in this competitive world, and consumers seem mainly interested in the technology that science produces, rather than the methods it uses to produce those wonderful gadgets we all enjoy. And even with the public demand for technology, I see fewer and fewer U.S. companies being responsible for meeting that demand.<BR/><BR/>Of course, a lack of understanding science is a more than just a U.S. economic problem, its a global problem that affects the future of humanity.Steelmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09612062887585525213noreply@blogger.com