Can Humanity Learn to Become Civilized?
The Crisis of Science Without Civilization
by Nicholas Maxwell
9 July 2000, posted 1 August 2000

Abstract

Two great problems of learning confront humanity: learning about the nature of the universe and our place in it, and learning how to become civilized. The first problem was solved, in essence, in the 17th century, with the creation of modern science. But the second problem has not yet been solved. Solving the first problem without also solving the second puts us in a situation of great danger. All our current global problems have arisen as a result. What we need to do, in response to this unprecedented crisis, is learn from our solution to the first problem how to solve the second. This was the basic idea of the 18th century Enlightenment. Unfortunately, in carrying out this programme, the Enlightenment made three blunders, and it is this defective version of the Enlightenment programme that we have institutionalized in 20th century academic inquiry. In order to solve the second great problem of learning we need to correct the three blunders of the traditional Enlightenment. This involves changing the nature of social inquiry, so that social science becomes social methodology or social philosophy, concerned to help us build into social life the progress-achieving methods of aim-oriented rationality, arrived at by generalizing the progress-achieving methods of science. It also involves, more generally, bringing about a revolution in the nature of academic inquiry as a whole, so that it takes up its proper task of helping humanity learn how to become wiser by increasingly cooperatively rational means. The scientific task of improving knowledge and understanding of nature becomes a part of the broader task of improving global wisdom.

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This paper is posted as Target Article 28 in the KARL JASPERS FORUM, an electronic journal for target articles, edited by Herbert F J Muller at McGill University.

The full text of the paper is at http://www.douglashospital.qc.ca/fdg/kjf/; look for Target Article 28.

Commentaries are invited.

For further information contact Herbert Muller <hmller@po-box.mcgill.ca>

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