VIEWS

5.4.2007.

On Fashionable Nonsense by Alan Sokal & Jean Bricmont.

This book looks at the real meanings of the postmodernist theories fashionable in certain intellectual circles in Europe, USA & Britain. It also mentions about their followers in the third world. The essence of this philosophy if it could be called so remains, that all things are relative and cultural constructs including that of science. One could get confused.

Alan Sokal have endeavoured to clarify and explain the real meaning off science and views based on scientific findings. He started as if he is an adherent of postmodernist views, writing an article in a magazine. This had its repercussions in both scientific & postmodernist circles. Later he wrote back saying that the article concerned was a hoax. He made theses that are more elaborate on the topic and the book is the result.

Alan has quoted extensively from writings of the giants in postmodernism and relativism. He questions their words and show how they are nonsense. Verbose and meaningless words are strewn around without any context as if they are profound. One major thought propagated by this tribe is that there are several shades in science i.e. western, eastern, southern and northern based on geographic zones. Thus, there is Indian science, African science so on. They also maintain that the truth found by science is always relative and therefore not true. Alan says that it is not correct characterise scientific findings as relative just because many of them are not conclusive or final. He says if anything is final there nothing to for science to know further. However, there are umpteen numbers of scientific truths that are practically final for example the flight of an aeroplane or a rocket to moon. They are not some cultural constructs. They could be duplicated whether you are a westerner or easterner or else. The relativism in science confine to phenomena still under investigation and observation. The new findings might affect may be certain established truths and compel the scientists to alter or change their earlier conclusions. At this stage, no one could claim that both earlier as well as the new are equally true.

We have in India followers of the postmodernism like Ashish Nandi, Vandana Shiva and others. In effect, they are reinforcing the obscurantist views that the India has some special status to maintain in science as against western one. All these needs refutation firmly by lovers of science.

Alan’s book needs re-reading for me to grasp the thoughts explained there.