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Amanda wrote:

As an aside, when I hear the phrase "different ways of knowing" I  
think of
political correctness. Though I agree that art and philosophy afford us
different perspectives on thinking and add great value to our lives,  
I don't
think they are comparable to the knowledge we have built based on  
science
and I think it just serves to confuse the issue by claiming these are  
all,
equal ways, of attaining knowledge about our world.

Eric responds:

It's pretty easy to accept what you say: that "different ways of  
knowing" are not "equal."  That is explicit in the phrase.  I think  
that you will find people resistant to a value-laden vocabulary, if  
what you are suggesting is that science is a superior way of  
understanding the world in all contexts.  In the old formulation,  
science can tell us how things happen, but not why.  And given the  
environmental degradation that is the direct result of unfettered  
technology, an infusion of the "why" part of the question seems  
timely and important.   For example, will science give us the answer  
to whether cloning animals is good?  Cloning humans?  Will it answer  
the debate about the monocultural green revolution vs diverse seed  
stock?  Will it help to reduce terrorism and expand tolerance?  I  
don't see how.

Does science or the scientific method or the culture of science imply  
any kind of morality other than honesty?  Does it suggest how or why  
rich countries might forego some of our privileges to diminish our  
impact on the environment?

All that said, I agree that science museums should debunk, or at  
least not promote, pseudoscience, which I guess is your original point.

Eric Siegel
New York Hall of Science
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(718) 699-0005 x 317

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