Clashes of Knowledge: Orthodoxies and Heterodoxies in Science and Religion

Citation

Wolf, K.H. (2009), "Clashes of Knowledge: Orthodoxies and Heterodoxies in Science and Religion", Journal of Documentation, Vol. 65 No. 3, pp. 527-530. https://doi.org/10.1108/00220410910952483

Introduction

My previous review of the book Creative Environment related to the modern Knowledge Civilization Age by Wierzbicki and Nakamori can logically be supplemented by the above book on Clashes of Knowledge. To paraphrase:

The book is the first in a series called ‘Knowledge and Space’ dealing with spatial disparities of knowledge and the impact for the spatial context on the production and application of knowledge – and is the outcome of an agreement concluded with Klaus Tschira Foundation' (see publishers' acknowledgements on front page and pages 219‐20).

This acknowledgement plus the two Introductions to the Book Series and to this volume: Clashes of Knowledge Inside, Outside, and at the Threshold of Science proffer a good explanation for this newer approach to information technology and other related disciplines. The contributions in the book explore the conflict between various types of knowledge, especially between orthodox and heterodox knowledge systems, which range from religious fundamentalism to heresies within the scientific community itself. Does the traditional distinction between “belief/faith‐based systems” and “knowledge” still make sense? How is the difference between knowledge and belief understood in different cultural context? Reply:

All beliefs, directly and indirectly, implicitly and explicitly, obviously and subtly, influence everything we do – even in science and technology! And how are religious‐based systems displaced in their hegemonic role by “scientific” knowledge; […]?

All these questions and more are addressed by scholars of geography, history of science, philosophy, psychology, sociology, theology, etc. Several articles deal with scientists' attempts to systematically exclude implausible knowledge claims from their disciplines and how the boundaries of science are subject to historical change and to spatial and cultural contexts. […] clashes of knowledge on the personal level are also considered; why do individuals ignore information that contracts their “personal knowledge”; and when do they give up firm beliefs to integrate new information that contradicted their earlier knowledge?

Contents

A total of 13 authors from six countries offer the following contributions (after the above‐mentioned two Introductions):

1. 1.

   “Forms of knowledge: problems, projects, perspectives”.

2. 2.

   “The nexus of knowledge and space”.

3. 3.

   “Cultural boundaries: settled and unsettled”.

4. 4.

   “Actors' and analysts' categories in the social analysis of science”.

5. 5.

   “Science and the limits of knowledge”.

6. 6.

   “Science and religion in popular publishing in 19th century Britain”.

7. 7.

   “Reason, faith, and gnosis: potentials and problematics of a typological construct”.

8. 8.

   “The demarcation problem of knowledge and faith; questions and answers from theology”.

9. 9.

   “Types of sacred space and european responses to new religious movements”.

10. 10.

    “When faiths collide: the case of fundamentalism”.

11. 11.

    “The theory of cognitive dissonance: state of the science and direction for future research”.

12. 12.

    “Turning persuasion from an art into a science”.

A total of 13 abstracts, the Klaus Tschira Foundation section, and the index conclude the book. The many text's sub‐headlines would have been welcome as part of the contents (contrast with the Creative Environments book reviewed next) – in support of the all‐too‐brief and restrictive contents and index. All chapters have excellent references, even to some books, journals, encyclopedias, and articles many readers may be unfamiliar with.

Coverage of the book

To keep this review to the required “few words,” allow me to selectively present some sub‐titles as they appear in the book to demonstrate the wealth of data: opinion, belief, knowledge; essentialism, relativism, science; worldviews, models, symbols; dynamics of knowledge; prepositional and non‐propositional knowledge; know‐how and rationality; unified theory of knowledge and action; conceptions and significance of spatial patterns, spatiality, and spatial context in social and behavioral sciences; advantages of spatial perspective; sociological things positioned in space acting upon humans; when did scientific interest in all that evolve?; forces, power, processes generating/reproducing spatial disparities of knowledge (hierarchies); the architecture thereof; hegemony and clashes of orientation knowledge; spatial diffusion and mobility of knowledge: constructing a more realistic communication model; the knowledge‐transfer paradox; actors and analysts in the sciences; using symmetry and asymmetry; scientism; the scope of scientific knowledge (relativist and multi‐knowledge strategies); non‐scientific modes of knowing; going beyond the conflict thesis; a flood of cheap print; disseminating a Christian vision of science and naturalism; the hermetic tradition; gnosis and western esotericism; analytical typology (three kinds of knowledge); truth‐ and salvation‐seeking communities; structure of subjectivist faith and religious destructive power; the New Religious Movements (NRMs); various sacred space or locations (cosmic, global, national, local, biological, cultural, individual, inner, and virtual types); reaction to NRMs; religious knowledge; selectivity, context, fundamentalism (five points), and clashes of knowledge; classic cognitive dissonance theory (five types); modification, new formulations, and self‐based revisions; impact of ego‐depletion on information‐processing; the roots of persuasion studies in context of clashes of knowledge; six universal persuasive influence (reciprocation, consistency, social validation, liking, authority, and scarcity); and defense involved.

Having been interested for many years in systems analysis, cybernetics and related research philosophies, one would have expected that the two reviewed books on knowledge and creativity to have referred to them (see two book reviews of Encyclopedia of World Problems and Human Potential and International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics in this journal's Vol. 54 No. 4, 1998, pp. 520‐3 and Vol. 61 No. 5, 2005, pp. 672‐5, respectively).

Styles of presentation

Considering that many of the authors are of non‐English‐speaking countries (thus, the reader may find some useful earlier‐unknown references), there are no “linguistic” humdingers in this book – editing has been superb. The format/layout of the text is enhanced by the use of many sub‐titles, allowing the welcome presentation of shorter logically divided sections. Allow me again a “however” and wishful request for future books: most authors could have employed more point‐by‐point lists or tables (even comparative/contrastive style ones), in addition to the few in the book, plus diagrams, flow charts, and models. Nevertheless, the book is easy to read; all arguments make no overly complex cognitive demands.

Examples of recent scientific “controversies‐cum‐clashes”

The practical application of the theoretical background of the book is illustrated by examples of world‐class scientists battling for decades‐long “general‐consensus‐accepted theories”: one in chemistry, the second in geology – only brief references can be made, however. N.W. Ninham has repeatedly pointed out that “major conceptual issues have inhibited the application of physical chemistry to problems in the biological sciences,” describing (paraphrasing) “where theories went wrong, how to repair the present foundations, and how to progress toward building better dialogue” in the article by Ninham and Boström (2005). Elliston has, as a pragmatic mineral (ore) exploration geologist, studied certain types of textures, fabrics and structures in rocks for decades, concluding that many of the features require a different genetic interpretation as based on modern physical chemistry. His many intellectual battles‐cum‐clashes are described in dozens of publications; Works by Elliston (1984, 1985) summarized his ideas. All this finally released in the book: The Origin of Rocks and Mineral Deposits: Using Current Physical Chemistry of Small Particle Systems, University of Tasmania.

These two practically applied exemplars demonstrate that Philosophy of Science (e.g. integrated research methodology, including systems analysis) unequivocally has made fundamental contributions in sorting out persistent “Clashes of Knowledge”. Recommendation: buy the book being reviewed!