Scientists Fight Back In Canada

Trufagus writes "The current Canadian government is widely regarded as 'anti-science,' and this year they have stepped up their efforts to undermine scientists and control their contact with the media. But now the federal scientists are fighting back and have just launched their own website. Gary Corbett, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada, said, 'If science isn't supported then you're going to find that decisions are going to be made more at the political level,' on Monday as the union launched their website."

Comments

Union of Concerned Scientists

[WebSorcerer]

There is a comparable web site by US scientists started during the Bush Jr. administration. http://www.ucsusa.org/

Re:Why it's marked as a troll

[Creedo]

Bullshit.
First, you are introducing a false division between the prevailing philosophical beliefs of those times with the religious beliefs. What, are you going to argue that Thomas Aquinas' arguments were not religious because they were philosophical? Rubbish.
Second, you are ignoring the fact that the geocentrists used biblical passages to back up their beliefs and attack heliocentrism.
Third, you seem to imply that Luther and his reformation weren't as mired in anti-scientific attitudes as the Catholics he broke from. Some choice quotes from this odious man:

Faith must trample under foot all reason, sense, and understanding.

Reason is a whore, the greatest enemy that faith has.

Such ignorance plagued both sides of the reformation.

Ironically, this is why the New Testament frequently bashes philosophers and religious individuals who "value tradition over revelation." The New Testament has several scathing attacks on Greek philosophy and Talmudic legalism.

Ignoring for the moment that the NT supported tradition(and, in fact, is part of a larger tradition), I would point out that both tradition and revelation are incredibly stupid ways of attempting to understand the universe.

Re:Why it's marked as a troll

[gstoddart]

Because religion, in the West, has never suppressed science.

Bullshit.

Religion in the West tries to do this all the time. For example, Tennessee vs Scopes, and anybody who tries to get creationism taught in schools. Or preventing experiments no fetal stem cells. Or outlawing abortion because God told them so. Or gay marriage because some obscure passage in the bible says so. Any number of ways in which religion tries to control both science and society.

There's loads of examples, and it's getting worse -- the fundamentalists try very hard to push back anything which goes against their "view" of how the world works, and force the rest of us to toe the line.

I'm sorry, but those of us who don't believe in God are often appalled to listen to some of the shit that gets said. And for you to try to say that the West has never allowed religion to suppress science is utter crap.