Reductionism, “Bad Science,” and Politics: A Critique of Anti-Reductionist Reasoning

Abstract

This article examines the recent political-cumepistemological criticism of reductionism in fields such as sociobiology, behavioral ecology, behavioral genetics, and IQ research. It identifies and challenges some unexamined assumptions underlying current “anti-reductionist” reasoning, especially the belief that there are inherent links between political motivations and scientific convictions, between “bad” science and undesirable political consequences, and between methodological and ontological reductionism. The author analyzes the conflict in scientific world views between anti-reductionist “weeders” and reductionist “planters.” Paradoxically, in their criticism of research strategies routinely used by alleged reductionists, anti-reductionists often sound like arch-reductionists themselves. The author argues that the various linked beliefs in anti-reductionist reasoning should be uncoupled, not only for intellectual, but also for political reasons.

Evolutionary Epistemology and Its Implications for Humankind - Franz M. Wuketits, Albany, NY:Suny Press,1990, 262 pp. US$59.50 cloth. ISBN 0-7914-0285-1. US$19.95 paper. ISBN 0-7914-0286-X. State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246-0001, USA.

“…In fact, philosophers may be taken aback if they read the book's Glossary, where the author confidently states: "Ontology cannot be successfully practiced without reference to findings in the (natural) sciences" (p. 224), or "philosophy should not be pursued without reference to the sciences" (p. 224). But when Wuketits says, "The evolutionary approach leads to the decline of metaphysics: we are going to explain metaphysics itself as a 'natural phenomenon'" (p. 199), he sounds very similar to E. O. Wilson, who in his earliest books on sociobiology seems to have thought that if he could explain religion on an evolutionary basis, he could explain it away (for a discussion, see Segerstrale, 1986).…”

“…For instance, current evolutionary psychologists are also asking questions about information processing systems, exactly because they believe that there are "Darwinian algorithms" which lead to adaptive behavior (e.g., Cosmides and Tooby, 1987;Tooby and Cosmides, 1990). The supposed adaptationist program should not be mystified: for most biologists it does not imply a deep metaphysical belief but simply a heuristic assumption that is needed for them to be able to do research at all (for more arguments along this line, see Segerstrale, 1992).…”