Origins 2(2):55-57 (1975). — editorial
During the 18th century a number of museums of Europe discarded
their meteorite specimens because they were considered to be relics from a superstitious
past when people believed that rocks fell out of the sky. The embarrassment of being
associated with such unscientific samples was more than some curators were willing to
bear. At that time the scientific community, led by the French Academy of Sciences, had
expressed its view against the existence of meteorites, and their opinion prevailed. Since
then it has been well documented that rocks do fall out of the sky.
The loss of these rare specimens was serious, but much more important
is the inadequacy of the patterns of human thought illustrated by these incidents.
Prevailing opinion is too frequently equated with truth, and important decisions are made
on this basis. The history of man's search for truth reveals a disturbing pattern. Often
large groups of individuals adopt particular ideas, believing them to be true. These are
later replaced by opposing views which in turn are replaced by others. This cycle has been
repeated many times. Often each view has a large group of followers. This instability
makes it proper to wonder if current opinions can have the certainty of truth that its
adherents usually imply they have. Some also wonder if new ideas are better than old ones.
A number of students of the history and philosophy of science including
Barber (1961), Kuhn (1970), Kearney (1971), and Brush (1974) have addressed themselves to
these questions. Their opinions are not very encouraging and the latter three raise
serious doubts regarding the prevailing idea that science is a steady advance towards
truth. One of the more explicit accounts of the dilemma is given by Kuhn (1970) who
proposes that ordinary science is the refining of broad universally accepted scientific
concepts "that for a time provide model problems and solutions" (p. viii). He
calls these broad concepts "paradigms." A change from one paradigm to another is
referred to as a scientific revolution. Because paradigms are universally accepted, they
are seldom questioned, even though science claims to actively oppose dogma (Brush 1974).
Kuhn further emphasizes that if a scientist does not fit his queries into an accepted
paradigm, these are likely to be rejected as metaphysical or too problematic. The
longevity of the paradigm is enhanced by such an attitude as well as by the fact that one
tends to feel more secure when one is on the side of prevailing opinion. In view of this
it may be well to remind ourselves of the incisive dictum that if we always go by the
majority, there is little chance for progress.
The tendency for humans to group themselves under the protection of
prevailing schools of thought, thus betraying a singular lack of independence, is in part
what prompted T. H. Huxley to state: "'Authorities', 'disciples', and 'schools' are
the curse of science; and do more to interfere with the work of the scientific spirit than
all its enemies" (Bibby 1960, p. 18). Man's efficiency as a seeker for truth is also
questioned by Winston Churchill when he states: "Men occasionally stumble over the
truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing happened."
Since the paradigm has broad acceptance, it is less likely to be questioned than a concept
that is considered equivocal, and the change from one paradigm to another is quite
difficult since there is so much inertia to overcome (Barber 1961).
Recently it has been argued that such a paradigm change may not be
generated by the greater problem-solving ability of the new paradigm. To put it more
directly the new paradigm may have less data to support it than the old one. Philosophical
arguments may be the primary motives for change. Kuhn (1970, p. 151) labels the change as
a "conversion experience." Brush (1974) and Kearney (1971) propose that a new
paradigm may replace an old one even though it is not as good a scientific solution. Kuhn
has the same reservations when he states: "We may, to be more precise, have to
relinquish the notion, explicit or implicit, that changes of paradigm carry scientists and
those who learn from them closer and closer to truth" (p. 170).
It is obvious that the group-like behavior of the scientific community
when it works within or shifts from one paradigm to another betrays a lack of independent
thought and a lack of caution on the part of the individual scientists. It is also true
that numerous examples of paradigm shifts toward what is now considered to be a more
erroneous position can be cited. However we have confidence that what is called ultimate
truth exists and that a pursuit which tries to bring agreement of concepts with the more
factual data of nature, such as science does, should bring us closer to that truth. There
may be many false paradigms along the way, but eventually we should get closer to our goal
as more of this data of nature is incorporated into prevailing concepts.
The lesson for us now is that we should not be unduly influenced by
prevailing paradigms; history suggests they will change, and because of this we should
exhibit a greater degree of independent thought, basing our conclusions more on factual
data than on generally accepted opinions. Specifically regarding the questions of special
concern to this journal, those of origins, the paradigm of evolution (we are speaking of
the general theory of evolution) compared to creation should be evaluated in terms of the
recent findings in nature more than in terms of the popularity of either idea. Since the
recent discoveries in molecular biology have shown that the spontaneous origin of life and
meaningful genetic changes are much more improbable than was previously believed, and
since further search in the fossil record confirms the ubiquitous nature of the gaps
between major kinds of organisms as would be expected for creation, we feel it is time
that the scientific community give serious thought to questioning the paradigm of
evolution. The new data demands it.
REFERENCES
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Geoscience Research Institute. All rights reserved.
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