‘I have never seen Francis Crick in a modest mood’ wrote James Watson at the start of his book The Double Helix.
Crick may well have said the same about Watson because these two scientists were certainly not known for their humility. And surely it is no surprise that some scientists are arrogant, just as are some sportspersons, some teachers, some doctors, some pastors and church leaders, and so on. Humans are not perfect and one way of being imperfect is arrogance. Scientists are no exception – they exhibit the same range of imperfections as society at large.
However, in his en article (June 2022) ‘The fanatical arrogance of men of science’ (for which we thank him), William Philip suggests that the arrogance of scientists goes much further than that. In particular he highlights the problems when atheist secularism, under the guise of liberalism, is the guiding principle for the way that our society is governed and suggests that the scientific hubris behind this may lead to many evil practices and totalitarian policies.
