'The unmasking of modern science' – the sequel (I)

Abstract

In 1982, T.M. Moore claimed that positivism was in the process of being “unmasked”. Its shortcomings were being unmasked by its enemies as well as by its adherents. In describing the process of unmasking, Moore resorted to T.S. Kuhn’s sociological theory of normal science, paradigms, crises and revolutions. Moore then went on to challenge the Christian scholarly community to (inter alia) develop a new paradigm for science. Now, after just more than two decades have elapsed since this exhortation by Moore, a survey had to be done to see to what extent the secular as well as the Christian community has taken up the challenge and how both of them have progressed in the directions that Moore had predicted. It has also become time for the Christian community to assess its own progress towards developing a “new” scientific paradigm. In this article, the first part of a two-part article on this subject, the author concludes that modern science has not only surrendered the positivistic search for universal foundations and truth, but has become characterised by secularism, postmodern fragmentation and a preference for contingent foundations.