Summary Of Pigliucci's Essay On Scientism

In this article, Pigliucci discusses multiple issues with scientism and he gives a strong argument to why scientism cannot replace literature, art, philosophy and ethics. First, he explains how scientism is appealing by describing reductionism. “Reductionism is a basic and very successful approach common to the physical and biological science, articulated by Rene Descartes (1596-1650) in his Meditations on First Philosophy” (280). What Pigliucci is trying to say that reductionism analysis something that is complex, like an idea, then move that complex idea into something that is easier to represent and is simpler to understand, giving it an adequate solution. By doing so, people do not have to look at ethics and philosophy answers because it requires deep thinking and questioning. This allows people to use scientism for social interactions, and as Pigliucci stated, “even control to a point – the natural world” (280). That is why Pigliucci uses the “Big Bang Theory” characters as examples in this writing. For instance, on page 280, Sheldon tries to create an equation for creating friendships because he has horrible social skills. …show more content…
Pigliucci finishes by summing up his point on the importance of natural science, literature, social science, philosophy, and art on why they are important, along with science, and how all are needed for humans, as well as society, to grow. Society cannot improve if we throw away our morals and ethics, all in the name of science because science cannot dive into why people are religious. It can state numbers and facts, but it cannot explain human emotion on why and how people choose their faiths. As Jerry Fodor stated, “Science is about facts, not norms; it might tell us how we are, but it can’t tell us what is wrong with how we