From the Bookshelf of Science and Inquiry…

The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason and the Laws of Nature

Timothy Ferris

Start date: September 2, 2010

Finish date: September 30, 2010

Discussion: Book Club 2010 & Prior

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Book Club 2010 & Prior

March Book Club "A Short History of nearly Everything"
By William · 14 posts · 147 views

last updated Aug 06, 2014 12:20PM

November 2010 - Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End / The Varieties of Scientific Experience: A Personal View of the Search for God
By S. · 62 posts · 80 views

last updated Apr 19, 2012 04:58PM

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What Members Thought

Apr 13, 2010 David Rubenstein rated it it was amazing

Shelves: philosophy, religion, nonfiction, history, politics, science

What an excellent book! Very entertaining, and full of a very unique point of view. I enjoyed most of all, the descriptions of how the American Declaration of Independence and the Constitution are written in language that only a scientist would use. The author's point of view is very convincing. Mainly, that nations that are founded "as an experiment"--and do not have constitutions and laws that are cast in stone forever--are bound to be most successful in the long run. Conditions change over ti ...more

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Sep 15, 2010 Gofita rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: history, science, 2011-read, 2011-favorites

Excellent book on how liberal democracies promote science and thus overall freedom. It's basically a mini history on liberal democracy and other forms of government that haven't panned out so well. In the end science and reason promote tolerance and human rights. ...more

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May 30, 2013 Jim rated it really liked it

Really enjoyed this as I did Timothy Ferris's other book "Coming of Age in the Milky Way." Part science, part history, part philosophy this book explores the connection between advances in scientific discovery and democratic liberalism. His thesis is that one cannot exist without the other, each feeding off the other as they progress. He believes society can only prosper in such an environment.

Most of the book cites examples that illustrate this, from Newton to the present day. He explores the r Really enjoyed this as I did Timothy Ferris's other book "Coming of Age in the Milky Way." Part science, part history, part philosophy this book explores the connection between advances in scientific discovery and democratic liberalism. His thesis is that one cannot exist without the other, each feeding off the other as they progress. He believes society can only prosper in such an environment.

Most of the book cites examples that illustrate this, from Newton to the present day. He explores the relative freedom of liberal democratic societies comparing them with those that have tried to suppress it. He cites fascism, communism, religious fanaticism and postmodernism as culprits that inhibit this progress. Each he says, substitutes scientific objectivity with a relativism that encourages abuses of power and causes backwardness.

He levels some of his most pointed criticisms at the wave of postmodern deconstruction that has become fashionable at academic institutions in the 20th century. He views this trend with alarm as scholars make claims about the relativism of scientific discovery; asserting there is no objective scientific truth, and that any discovery that makes that claim is inherently tainted by the bias of the discoverer. A notion he views as beyond ridiculous - and dangerous. By assuming all scientific discovery is thus subject to disproof, students aren't encouraged to actually learn the science they have been trained to criticize.

Ferris even takes on one of the most influential works describing the history of science - Thomas Kuhn's landmark work "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions." Kuhn's assertion in that work is that scientific truth is not based on objective criteria, but is defined by the consensus of the scientific community. As such it consists not only of objective observation, but of the subjective perceptions of those forming that consensus. Discovery that comes into conflict with this consensus and breaks through it to form a new consensus are said to have initiated "paradigm shifts" - a term Kuhn coined to describe this sudden and successful change in that consensus. Since scientific truth cannot be ascertained objectively, there can be no such thing as an assertion of scientific truth.

Ferris views this as nonsense and simply another way to inject relativism and subjectivity into perceptions of scientific discovery. In this way those who have agendas other than the search for truth can assert that flaws in the scientific method are no different than flaws in any other system. They can thus conform their view of scientific discovery with whatever ideology they have constructed (e.g. "Socialist Science").

He also describes the ideological spectrum as a triangle. Instead of progressive and conservative at two ends of a line, they populate two vertices of a triangle, with liberalism at the other. As societies implement policies they move along these vertices toward more or less liberalism...and that these shifts can validly come from either the progressive or conservative side. Liberal democratic societies thus oscillate between them constantly trying to find the right balance of freedom and regulation to maximize progress. (this is a very quick and crude explanation of what Ferris describes in the book).

All of this is very well written in a smooth and non technical way. While reading it I found I suddenly understood concepts I had only a dim comprehension of before. It's only weakness in my opinion is the scrupulous effort made to balance any criticism of conservative ideology with one of progressivism...even if that attempt was strained. I also think he is too dismissive of criticisms of globalization, income inequality, and corporate power.

Highly recommended!

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Jul 24, 2010 Timothy Finucane rated it it was amazing

Fantastic expose on the benefits of science under liberal democracy. Timothy Ferris excels at showing us why science seems to flourish under a free society, and languish under repressive regimes. A must read for anyone who loves freedom and the benefits that science brings to the world.

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