Scientistic materialism is a philosophical stance that posits a definition of consciousness that is observable and subject to the scientific method. The term is used as a pejorative by proponents of creationism and intelligent design. The stance has been attributed to philosopher George Santayana.[1]
History
The "Wedge Document" produced by the Discovery Institute, described materialism as denial of "the proposition that human beings are created in the image of God," and that humans are instead "animals or machines who inhabited a universe ruled by purely impersonal forces and whose behavior and very thoughts were dictated by the unbending forces of biology, chemistry and environment." The document states that materialism leads inevitably to "moral relativism" and denounce its "stifling dominance" in modern culture. By this definition, scientific materialism is linked to the more general version of materialism, which declares that the physical world is the only thing that exists and that nothing supernatural exists.
See also
- Conflict thesis
- Faith and rationality
- Relationship between religion and science
- Scientific mythology
- Scientism
References
- ^ Flamm, Matthew Caleb (2009). "Angus Kerr-Lawson and the Ills and Cures of Scientistic Materialism". Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society. 45 (4): 467–483. doi:10.2979/tra.2009.45.4.467. JSTOR 10.2979/tra.2009.45.4.467.