John Gray versus the religion of scientific enlightenment

Today, I finished reading “Al Qaeda and what it means to be Modern” by John Gray. Although he makes strange comments about Christianity, and in his recounting of the greatest genocides of the twentiety century completely ignores Pol “psycho” Pot - my favourite genocider - I found it on the whole illuminating and clarifying.

There is a certain belief that, when I find that I am arguing with one who holds it, annoys the crap out of me. I was never able to solidly define it, but Gray has it nailed.

There is a belief among many that, as scientific knowledge progresses, so to do our morals and our politics. It is believed that (to quote Gray) scientific advance engenders social progress. Yet surely this can be seen as nonsense? As Gray points out, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union did not have to discard scientific knowledge to commit their atrocities. In fact, the Nazi killing machine relied upon it.

I've found that many such believers also believe, as a corollary, that those in the past were fools compared to those that live today.

My main man Cian Synnott once told me of a play from the ancient world (Greek or Roman, I do not know which), the characters of which seemed just like people you'd meet every day of the week. How can we say we have advanced when we are just like people from thousands of years ago?

Ultimately, increased scientific knowledge doesn't make us better people; the play in particular proves that though we have greatly increased our scientific knowledge we haven't really changed. All it means is that we know more about science. This is certainly an achievement, but there is a great difference between such knowledge and true wisdom.

The book is thought-provoking, and I would recommend it.