The Science Delusion

This is a revised and updated edition of Rupert's book that came out in 2012, which was reviewed and awarded the Network Book Prize is the same year. I think it is one of his most important books in terms of scope and impact and it appears in the US under a different and better title, Setting Science Free. For me, Rupert embodies the spirit of scientific enquiry in terms of curiosity and openness subjected to the rigour of scientific experimentation. In spite of this, he and his ideas are vehemently attacked by sceptics – most readers will know that his TED talk related to the book was taken down at the behest of its scientific committee but subsequently received more than 5 million views. The content of the book embraces history and philosophy of science in spelling out ten dogmas of modern science – assumptions that are taken for granted and are subliminally absorbed during scientific training. Rupert also addresses upfront the question of science, religion and power – his orthodox critics are the ones currently in power in terms of what is regarded as acceptable and respectable.

Rather than expressing the 'dogmas' as statements, he poses them as questions such as: Is nature mechanical? Is matter unconscious? Is nature purposeless? Are minds confined to brains? Are psychic phenomena illusory? Is mechanistic medicine the only kind that really works? Only the last two chapters on objectivity and scientific futures are without question marks. Each of the main chapters contains at the end a good summary and questions for materialists – for instance, is the mechanistic worldview a testable scientific theory, or a metaphor? If it is a metaphor, why is the machine metaphor better in every respect than the organism metaphor? If it is a scientific theory, how could it be tested or refuted? The answer, of course, is that the mechanistic worldview is a presupposition or assumption functioning as a metaphor and can neither be tested nor refuted. It is rather a lens through which the world is seen. Tellingly, in the same section, Rupert asks: do you think that you yourself are nothing but a complex machine?

This new edition is 40 pages longer than the original and covers new developments in the sciences since 2012. These include a discussion of the missing heritability problem, the epigenetic revolution and the extended evolutionary synthesis. In relation to memory, Rupert covers recent findings with respect to opt genetic techniques enabling the activity of nerve cells within the brain to be more closely studied. Here he argues that 'this makes the theory that memories are stored as material traces more problematic than ever.' And in relation to illusions of objectivity, he discusses the reproducibility crisis where it turns out that many reports in scientific journals cannot be replicated. Overall, the book represents an argument for open enquiry and liberated imaginations, which Rupert himself embodies. This is a book well worth revisiting and essential reading if you have not yet done so. The topics it covers could not be more important.