An interesting quote from Christian philosopher J.P. Moreland regarding our culture’s habit of checking our brains (or more fairly, the section of our brains that controls critical thinking) at the door anytime a “scientist” makes any sort of claim - even if that claim is outside of his or her sphere of expertise. It is as if we have come to believe as a culture that “science” can’t be wrong and any opinion offered by a scientist must necessarily be believed. Moreland made these comments in response to Stephen Hawking’s (a physicist, by the way, not a philosopher) comments about God in his latest book, The Grand Design. Here’s his full response to the book if you’re interested. Here’s the quote:
In previous times when average people knew more philosophy, these claims would simply be laughable because they are philosophical assertions being made by scientists who have little or no philosophical training. Thus, however brilliant they are in their own field, Hawking and Mlodinow are laypersons when it comes to the relevant issue at hand.
But we live in a scientistic culture. When a scientist speaks, he is taken to be an authority irrespective of what the topic is. And that attitude reflects poorly on the educational level of the public.
Thus, the deeper issue for me in all this is not whether or not the universe could come into existence from nothing without a cause. It is, rather, the scientism that lies at the heart of Western culture. I have long believed that philosophical naturalism, with its unjustified scientism, has helped to create an intellectually unsophisticated culture, and this is one reason why I think this way.
