Category Archives: Science

The Architecture of Annihilation…

Posted on December 16, 2018 by bsixsmith

A cathedral is a tribute to God. A skyscraper is a tribute to capital. Cathedrals reflect the glorious narratives of faith. Skyscrapers reflect the profits of capital. This could be an impotent anti-materialist moan. What interests me, though, is something … Continue reading →

Posted in Fascism, Futurism, Science, Utopianism | 1 Comment

What is Scientism, And Why Is It Bad?

Posted on March 17, 2018 by bsixsmith

The charge of scientism is both unreflectively made and unreflectively dismissed; wielded by cranks and bores and brushed off by the smug and the superficial. Given this, its meaning, and its significance, is unclear. Some believe, indeed, that it has … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationalism, Scepticism, Science | 3 Comments

The Blank Slateism of the Right…

Posted on January 15, 2017 by bsixsmith

My new essay for Quillette… “What a piece of work is a man!” Hamlet exclaimed. What indeed? Something less than God. Something more than dust. But what else can be said has remained controversial. There is an idea that human … Continue reading →

Posted in Conservatism, Science | Leave a comment

More Fun With New Atheists…

Posted on October 12, 2016 by bsixsmith

More astonishingly unintentional new atheist humour comes from the biologist Jerry Coyne. Coyne is known for reviewing books he has not read and now attacks a conference that has yet to take place. Not only is Coyne’s hostile judgement based … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationalism, Religion, Scepticism, Science | 2 Comments

More on Middlebrow Epistemology…

Posted on October 4, 2016 by bsixsmith

A while ago I wrote on “middlebrow epistemology”… that form of argumentation that has the essential qualities of a pub argument – the factoids, the simplifications, the argumentum ad passiones – but decently covers them with a figleaf of rationality. … Continue reading →

Posted in Rationalism, Scepticism, Science | Leave a comment

Humanity’s Drug Addiction…

Posted on November 19, 2015 by bsixsmith

An old piece, made relevant by today’s news about the spread of antibiotic resistance. One of the great tragedies of our age is man’s insistence on blundering into avoidable fiascos. Dame Sally Davies, Chief Medical Officer for England, has been … Continue reading →

Posted in From the Archives, Health, Science | Leave a comment

A Lie That Became A Truth…

Posted on September 24, 2015 by bsixsmith

Opinion commentators erect ideological castles from the sand of legends and myths. Take Lawrence Richards, who wrote a popular essay attempting to explain the scale of the amusement that greeted the claims that David Cameron had committed unsavoury acts with … Continue reading →

Posted in Media, Scepticism, Science | Leave a comment