A thorough, right-wing perspective on the philosophical vices of modern science.
A theoretical critique of scientism, the hyperbolically confident view that scientific materialism is capable of explaining the universe in its totality.
Christopher announces an ambitious agenda: to challenge the “scientific vision of life,” the reductive attempt to capture all existing phenomena—human and otherwise—in the categories of scientific materialism. The author principally devotes his attention to the relentless attempt to explain human behavior from the perspective of DNA, the alleged “language of life.” However, Christopher contends, with impressive clarity and rigor, that such an attempt has long been exposed as a failure—explanatory recourse to DNA simply doesn’t account for the whole spectrum of behavioral differences or variations in innate intelligence. Despite the mounting difficulties with the explanatory power of DNA, however, the scientific community has doubled down on its commitment to it—a type of “faith-based” rather than evidentiary allegiance. The author interprets this commitment as an expression of irrational scientism, which combines a “total confidence in the materialistic model of human life” with a self-congratulatory “hype and arrogance.” Christopher devotes so much attention to the field of genetics precisely because he sees it as the crucible of this scientism: “I suggest that biologists/geneticists are effectively in the front lines of the defense of materialism. That foundational scientific belief that life is completely describable in terms of physics dictates that DNA fulfill the heredity role. Never mind some of the extraordinary behavioral challenges, DNA has to cover all of materialism’s bets.”
Christopher also assesses the ways scientific dogma clouds discussions of environmental sustainability, race, intelligence, and even meditation—in the latter case he furnishes a fascinating discussion of the limitations of the analysis of Sam Harris, a philosopher and neuroscientist who is a well-known critic of religion. Further, he does a credible job of not only exposing the vulnerabilities and limitations of DNA as a theoretical panacea, but also the ways the scientific community routinely dismisses them, betraying their avowed commitment to intellectual openness. “Contradicting the certitude of science there are bunch [sic] of behavioral phenomena which are very difficult to explain from a materialist perspective. The inability of science to acknowledge this situation contradicts the regularly proclaimed openness and curiosity of scientists. In fact science has its own rigid materialist purview and strongly defends it.” The author, whose perspective is unmistakably locatable on the right of the political aisle, claims he does not supply a “nuanced effort,” and this is sometimes true. In his discussion of black communities, he offers common racist tropes: “A relatively weak commitment towards education and a tendency towards violence are still substantial problems in parts of the African American community.” Overall, the author’s argument is clear and free of technical convolution, a remarkable feat given the forbidding nature of much of the subject matter. His chief goal is to demonstrate the “sacred” nature of the scientific community’s fidelity to DNA as a settled theory and, as a consequence, encourage it to “start looking elsewhere for explanations.” At the very least, he accomplishes this goal.
A thorough, right-wing perspective on the philosophical vices of modern science.Pub Date: March 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-62967-170-3
Page Count: 178
Publisher: Wise Media Group
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
A playful, Christian romp through an imaginative world.
Derowitsch’s (A New Global Ideal, 2016) allegorical novel follows a young man at a crossroads.
Kyle Redding—who is best described as ordinary—is a 17-year-old living in Salem, Oregon. The narrator explains the lack of much of a description for Kyle: “How do you really describe someone who is just about average in every way?” He befriends the new girl at school and thinks she has girlfriend potential. After Marah Deni rebuffs him, Kyle tries to kill himself. He doesn’t succeed, and a voice guides him to a street called Kingwood, where he embarks on a surreal adventure and meets many strange characters. The most sinister is a jewel-covered snake, aka Leviathan, though some call him the “Soul-Devourer.” Lucky for Kyle, there are plenty of people looking out for his best interest, including Clive, who’s hammering away at a typewriter. One need not know much about theology to figure out that a story that includes a combination of a cunning snake and a writer named Clive is likely to have something to do with Christianity. And so the reader is guided through a tale dotted with occasionally playful creatures (e.g., cartwheeling squirrels) and focused on the importance of understanding one’s true spiritual needs. Events move quickly, propelling Kyle to a new understanding. Watching Kyle’s growth gives the book its best moments. He is even shown the spiritual states of people he thinks he knows pretty well. Although these sights aren’t as punishing as Dante, they provide a lasting reminder that all that glitters isn’t gold, a reminder that works well in a story that, though threaded with silliness, is in the end very serious business. All told, such a combination makes the book’s message obvious but also digestible and even a little bit fun.
A playful, Christian romp through an imaginative world.Pub Date: Feb. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5127-7165-7
Page Count: 158
Publisher: Westbow Press
Review Posted Online: July 5, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An affecting bildungsroman grounded in principles of emotional intelligence.
A Bangladeshi father sets his son on a path to achievement in this debut novel that doubles as a self-help manual.
Mired in generational poverty that seems inescapable, Sukkur, an agricultural day laborer in rural Bangladesh, is determined that his beloved son, Bijoy, will break their family’s cycle of privation by getting an education and perhaps one day becoming the village teacher. When Sukkur dies suddenly, Bijoy’s financial future looks grim. But the boy’s mother, Jorina, finds ways to advance Bijoy’s prospects, even when it means placing him in an orphanage. Nurtured by his mother’s love and resilience, Bijoy not only survives his institutionalization, but learns lessons of self-reliance, assertiveness, and cooperation. The determination born of his parents’ sacrifices buoys him while his open nature leads him toward mentors along the way, from a college friend who shows him how to get over a broken heart to a dorm cook who inspires a career-changing love of music. Although Bijoy’s journey is sometimes painful, the “divine dots” of his life crises guide him forward. Khan’s novel serves as an extended consideration of human psychology and emotional awareness; the author frequently peppers the narrative with quotes from a variety of thinkers, from Gandhi and Rumi to J.P. Morgan and Norman Vincent Peale, as the philosophical Bijoy struggles to makes sense of his experiences. Often these detours include scientific research and expert opinion, such as a reference to psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl’s work on the connection between creating meaning and surviving horrific circumstances. Only occasionally does the tone lapse into didacticism or triteness, as with a comparison of life to a garden which must be prepared and watered, but the humanity of Bijoy’s story pulls the reader through those sections to rewarding insights.
An affecting bildungsroman grounded in principles of emotional intelligence.Pub Date: Nov. 19, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5462-6815-4
Page Count: 230
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: April 9, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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