The Tyranny of Good Ideas

I hope to read the new Ferris book; he's more than informative, he is educational. His current book argues that science has been the engine of Liberal democracies, wealth and freedom. Inherent is the development of experimentally confirmed beliefs in contradistinction to beliefs developed by logic or reason. The scientific method emerged and then replaced the belief system that had been the focus of philosophical thought since the Golden Age of Greece. No longer would an idea have merit because of its thoroughness, its symmetry, its depth or its elegance. From now on, mankind would be freed of the tyranny of "good ideas". Now we would demand proof before we would commit our lives and our children to a notion--however clever. Good ideas would remain just that, ideas, without proof of the hypothesis. The divine right of kings will go the way of the geocentric universe.

At least usually. We still have the Lamarckian dialectic materialism with its weird cult leaders like Lysenko, Keynesian economics still presents itself as law, and foods are periodically banned like books on The Index. And the hallmark of liberal democracies, the bureaucracy, is immortal; it staggers on regardless of the value or effectiveness of the notions that created it.

We are in thrall to opinions, heartfelt sometimes, but opinions. Talk radio has made an industry of them. Politicians are fond of mixing them with some moral imperative to buttress them and infuse the audience with a bit of righteous fervor. But they are no longer charming national anecdotes and quirks; we are too big. Now when things fail there are giant implications. War. Economic collapse. Doom. Despair. We have forgotten the Enlightenment, the most important period between the Renaissance and the physics/industrial age. We still are seduced by dogma, by a coherent and lovely argument. Particularly an argument that purports to be kind.

Dogma has its place in those areas we cannot explore or answer. Dogma used to have some protective qualities too. The fear of dragons and the flat earth kept men from the dangers of the sea (and also the adverture's rewards.) But we are more confident now. Now we follow the dogmas that promise to improve our lives, right our wrongs, balance our bank accounts.

They call these dogmas "projects", "programs" and "change"; I call them uncontrolled experiments. Wear protective clothing and goggles. Put the dog in the basement. Hide the women.