The March of Unreason: Science, Democracy, and the New Fundamentalism

by Dick Taverne

Overview

In The March of Unreason, Dick Taverne expresses his concern that irrationality is on the rise in Western society, and argues that public opinion is increasingly dominated by unreflecting prejudice and an unwillingness to engage with factual evidence. Discussing topics such as genetically modified crops and foods, organic farming, the MMR vaccine, environmentalism, the precautionary principle, and the new anti-capitalist and anti-globalization movements, he argues that the rejection of the evidence-based approach nurtures a culture of suspicion, distrust, and cynicism, and leads to dogmatic assertion and intolerance. Science, with all the benefits it brings, is an essential part of a civilized and democratic society: it offers the most hopeful future for humankind.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780192804853
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/05/2005
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	8.74(w) x 6.42(h) x 1.16(d)

About the Author

Dick Taverne was the Labour MP for Lincoln from 1962 to 1972, when he resigned to fight the famous Lincoln by-election as an independent social democrat in 1973, and won. In 1974 he wrote The Future of the Left, Lincoln and After (Jonathan Cape), which predicted the split in the Labour party that happened seven years later. He is now a Liberal-Democrat peer. Becoming gradually more and more concerned about the increasing mood of hostility and suspicion towards science, in 2002 he founded the association 'Sense About Science' to promote an evidence-based approach to scientific issues.

Table of Contents

Prologue1. From optimism to pessimism2. Medicine and magic3. Organic farming4. GM: the case for5. GM: the case against6. The rise of eco-fundamentalism7. The perils of precaution8. The attack on science9. Multinational companies and globalization10. Reason and democracyEpilogueIndex

Editorial Reviews

"There is much to agree with and even to admire in Taverne's wide-ranging and trenchant observations."—Nature

"... offers a spirited defense of science and its evidence-based approach to public policy..."—The Washington Times

From the Publisher