Interesting article by Steven Pinker which is a self-described "impassioned plea to neglected novelists, embattled professors, and tenure-less historians" to apply science (and scientific results) to the humanities. I think there is a strong case to be made (and is indeed made here) for the use of scientific methods in the humanities. However, I'm not sure how I feel about Pinker's re-appropriation of the term 'scientism'. It looks more like a mis-appropriation of the word that is likely going to lead to confusion. In my view, a more accurate definition of scientism that preserves its pejorative connotation is probably something like: scientism is the overabundance and dominance of scientific-like modes of discourse amongst a discipline that almost completely eclipses and invalidates any other types of discourse. In this sense scientism is a real threat, and I think this is more or less what Leon Wieseltier is pointing to in his rejoinder.
"Philosophers constantly see the method of science before their eyes, and are irresistibly tempted to ask and answer in the way science does." -Wittgenstein
Science is not Your Enemy
Another interesting article I have recently read by Helke Ferrie about the history of disease, and the various connections which exist between human disease, human lifestyle and economic practices within the larger context of ecology.
A History of Disease
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