The Guru Disease In Indian Science (English) Dr C Viswanathan

The Guru Disease In Indian Science (English) Dr C Viswanathan .Organized by SIMA (Science Institute Malayali Association) on 01.11.2018 at IISc, Bangalore . In this presentation on " Scientific thinking , Science practitioners and students in India", Dr. Viswanathan points out that an attitude of irreverence, sadly lacking in Indian society is vital for learning and practicing science. It is reminded that such such "scientific refusal to recognize any source of epistemic privilege that translates, in society, into a refusal to bow to anyone.”Thus, lack of scientific temper in the society ultimately weakens our democracy and endangers our own liberty. Examples of the lack of scientific temper even among practitioners of science were discussed, referring to invitation of 'spiritual gurus' to professional conferences and to institutions of science research. It is argued that looking up to such people either for answers to existential questions or for 'peace of mind' is futile or even harmful.
How the "Guru Talk" harms Indian science is also explained with one example . In effect, men and women of science , under the spell of Guru talk, start to loose the spirit of irreverence so vital to the pursuit of science. They concede epistemic privilege to so called "alternative ways of knowing" They start to say, "well, science doesn't know everything..." and begin to bring in their favorite ancient stories to make up certain patently pseudoscientific narratives , ultimately justifying some ancient prejudice or other, just like what their favorite gurus do. The trick is to find some real ,but mostly imagined and unreal , gaps in our current understanding of nature, and fill those gaps with fairy tales good enough to justify your prejudices.

Видео The Guru Disease In Indian Science (English) Dr C Viswanathan канала Kerala Freethinkers Forum - kftf