[W]e enter a period in which Christianity slowly but surely loses its hegemonic position in intellectual discourse, while academic historians of philosophy abandon the currents and ideas associated with “Platonic Orientalism” as unworthy of serious…
Tag: science
[Объ экспедиціи Слика-Джонсона, геологахъ и инопланетянахъ]
[Это копія поста изъ телеги.] The details are murky, but it seems clear that at the very least a Western intelligence element existed alongside the search for the Yeti. The mixture of cloak-and-dagger spy work…
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C.D.B. Bryan: miscellaneous
Later in the afternoon Jenny Randles speaks of “an interesting study in which individuals were asked to describe imaginary abductions.” She explains that if such a study indicated there were significant similarities between a “fantasized…
Michael Barkun comes up with a categorization of the stigmatized-knowledge domain
By stigmatized knowledge I mean claims to truth that the claimants regard as verified despite the marginalization of those claims by the institutions that conventionally distinguish between knowledge and error — universities, communities of scientific…
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Michael Barkun on the authority of science vis-à-vis religion
Paradoxically, although science has contributed to the decline of religious authority, science too has seen its standing decline, especially in the last three decades of the twentieth century. The fruits of scientific research — whether…
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Д.Е. Галковскій: разное
Вообще, нужен опыт овладения национальной идеей. Она очень сильна и на неподготовленные натуры может воздействовать разрушительно (злоба и т.д.). Эта идея иррациональна и может подчинить себе разум, разрушить его до основания и включить в свою…
Brian Martin on the public vaccination controversy in Australia
In Australia, defending against SLAPPs [Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, a term coined by George Pring and Penelope Canan in SLAPPs: Getting Sued for Speaking Out (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1996)] has to operate differently…
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Brian Martin on vaccination
On the surface, it might seem that a narrative is just a way of describing the practical reality of disease and vaccination. But narratives are more than descriptions: they affect the way people process information,…
Brian Martin on expertise & citizen science in public scientific controversies
To examine this issue, it’s useful to look at the role of expertise in public scientific controversies. Vaccination proponents sometimes say that in order to have any credibility, it’s necessary to have appropriate credentials and…
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Brian Martin on resistance in public scientific controversy
When expressing views is risky for some individuals, a general approach for resistance is for public comment to be made by those who are least vulnerable and for those who are most vulnerable to become…
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