Part I: A Critique of River Out of Eden: In the Beginning the Preface

Abstract

The scientific search for universal laws is based on the belief that events in the physical creation are determined by local influences of a causal nature originating in the big bang and likewise determining the origin and evolution of biological life on the planet Earth. Universal influences are shunned. Science is based on objective observations viewed exclusively from the outside. This consequently externalizes values that determine our thoughts and behavior. It induces a strong tendency to seek fulfillment in living exclusively for material success and selfish gratification without appropriate regard for the needs of others. In justifying the position a healthy dose of transcending values recognizing the beauty and majesty of nature often creeps into the argument which thus becomes an exercise in double speak. In the absence of a viable alternative the implicit need for a practical unifying worldview reduces science to a fervent blind belief system feeding on how the sophisticated languages of science have come to be used.