March 7, 2023 — Steven Hayward @ Powerline
Political philosopher Joseph Cropsey (d. 2012), writing in 1964, with prescient thoughts for our Age of COVID Authoritarianism (among other “scientisms”):
A dogmatic belief in science is contrary to the principle of science itself; yet philosophy, not science, has appealed to the rational prohibition against closing of investigation, in the precise issue of the authoritativeness of science. Affected as we are by the tremendous prestige of science, we are well reminded that the power of science is a metaphorical expression for the power of man and that knowledge about man thus in a most important sense overrides the truth possessed by man about non-human things. For the power of man is a power to procure human good or ill; and as freedom undirected by reason is called license, so power undirected by human reasoning about human good or ill is tyranny or folly, or, most probably, both.
Well said. And that brings us to what is the good? Is there a fundamental good. Is there anything that if we take it away there is no need for further argument or action? If there is such a thing, is it reasonable or unreasonable to build actions to support that thing? If there is such a thing, is it a value unto itself or a value due to quantity? And finally, if there is such a thing is one thing or a group of things entitled to it more than another? If so by what argument, what principle?
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