Freeman Dyson (and others) – Towards an Open-Minded Science

  • Article
  • 1000 words
  • Level: high school and above

This excerpt has been selected by the Interdisciplinary Encyclopedia of Religion and Science (Inters.org), which is edited by the Advanced School for Interdisciplinary Research, operating at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, Rome, and directed by Giuseppe Tanzella-Nitti. Physicist Freeman Dyson and his colleagues write:

At a time when the young are lacking in motivation to take up scientific careers, and when science is subject to numerous criticisms, often abusive, or ill-informed, science needs to be as open as possible (among other things to the question of meaning) and should not seal itself off in a way which is characteristic of scientism.

This discussion was originally published in French in Le Monde (February 22, 2006) under the title “Pour une science sans a priori”.

Click here for an English translation of the Dyson et al discussion, from Inters.org.

Click here for the original Dyson et al discussion, from Le Monde.