Science in an Age of Unreason

By: John Staddon

Narrated by: Ralph Lister

Science is undergoing an identity crisis! A renowned psychologist and biologist diagnoses our age of wishful, magical thinking and blasts out a clarion call for a return to reason and the search for objective knowledge and truth. Fans of Matt Ridley and Nicholas Wade will adore this trenchant meditation and call to action.

Science is in trouble. Real questions in desperate need of answers—especially those surrounding ethnicity, gender, climate change, and almost anything related to “health and safety”—are swiftly buckling to the fiery societal demands of what ought to be rather than what is. These foregone conclusions may be comforting, but each capitulation to modernity’s whims threatens the integrity of scientific inquiry. Can true, fact-based discovery be redeemed?

In Science in an Age of Unreason, legendary professor of psychology and biology, John Staddon, unveils the identity crisis afflicting today’s scientific community, and provides an actionable path to recovery. With intellectual depth and literary flair, Staddon answers pressing questions, including: Is science, especially the science of evolution, a religion? Can ethics be derived from science at all? How sound is social science, particularly surrounding today’s most controversial topics? How can passions be separated from facts?

Informed by decades of expertise, Science in an Age of Unreason is a clarion call to rebirth academia as a beacon of reason and truth in a society demanding its unconditional submission.

©2022 John Staddon (P)2022 Blackstone Publishing

A surprisingly unscientific approach

I was fascinated by the concept of this book, though quickly became disillusioned by the author. It's not necessarily how agreeable the points are (I agree with a lot of his points and disagree with others), it's that the basis for many of his arguments aren't based on rigorous science. With a tendency to cherry pick studies to prove his points and a romanticization of scientists of the past, many of his arguments fall apart, and, more importantly, seemingly invalidate his authority to be an expert voice on the current state of science and politics. The rhetoric also displays a personal bitterness and passion that he advocates against, occasionally reading like a poorly researched but highly impassioned Facebook or Twitter rant.

The argument that science is flooded with political, economic, and social influences, to me, seems valid (although it's worth noting that some topics become taboo for more complex reasons than political correctness), I would just like a more scientific approach to the concept. Would not recommend unless doing cross-referential research. If interested in the topic, I'd start with either The Mismeasure of Man by Stephen Gould, or Behave by Robert Sapolsky.