Cultural Values versus Science

Abstract

The history of rationalistic thought in the west has been built on paradigms that provide justification for the fragmentation and domination of nature. We are therefore faced with a crisis in perception that overshadows any discussion of environmental issues. Conservatives tend to be more resistant to change than liberals. As a result, they are more likely to place primacy on others of one's race, creed and religion, as well as one's personal needs. Conversely, it is less likely that they wilt have regard for the land's sustainable capacity. Liberals tend to take a systems approach to thinking and are therefore less inclined to tinker with the individual components of a system. Science alone cannot reconcile opposing points of view which are based on value, because science was not designed to deal with values. Conducting a credible search for the truth demands that we first recognize the limitations of our own thinking, both in our tendency to form a single hypothesis and our tendency to be “method oriented” rather than “problem oriented.” Although science can never accurately represent nature, it has, over time, piqued our imagination, challenged old ways of thinking and demonstrated the fuzziness of our world view.