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The Science of Liberty: Democracy, Reason, and the Laws of Nature |  | Author: Timothy Ferris
Publisher: Harper
List Price: $26.99
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Rating:  16 reviews
Sales Rank: 140846
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Pages: 384
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.3
ISBN: 0060781505
Dewey Decimal Number: 303.483
EAN: 9780060781507
ASIN: 0060781505
Publication Date: February 1, 2010
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Product Description
In his most important book to date, award-winning author Timothy Ferris—"the best popular science writer in the English language today" (Christian Science Monitor)—makes a passionate case for science as the inspiration behind the rise of liberalism and democracy. Ferris argues that just as the scientific revolution rescued billions from poverty, fear, hunger, and disease, the Enlight-enment values it inspired has swelled the number of persons living in free and democratic societies from less than 1 percent of the world population four centuries ago to more than a third today. Ferris deftly investigates the evolution of these scientific and political revolutions, demonstrating that they are inextricably bound. He shows how science was integral to the American Revolution but misinterpreted in the French Revolution; reflects on the history of liberalism, stressing its widely underestimated and mutually beneficial relationship with science; and surveys the forces that have opposed science and liberalism—from communism and fascism to postmodernism and Islamic fundamentalism. A sweeping intellectual history, The Science of Liberty is a stunningly original work that transcends the antiquated concepts of left and right.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
Science and Politics: from freedom of thought to freedom July 8, 2010
S. McGee (New York, NY)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This proved to be such an engaging book that at times I found myself engaging in a heated argument with the author, hollering at the (unresponsive) book, "but what about..." or "but you're forgetting about....!" That alone wins it an extra star in my ranking, although Ferris's own occasional selective approach to scientific "evidence" for his conclusions continues to trouble me.
The argument at the heart of the book is deceptively simple: that political freedom and democracy is inextricably linked to the existence of a society in which scientists are free to question and experiment. That process of doubt and repeated attempts to make something better through experimentation is at the heart of the creation of modern democratic regimes, he argues -- which are the best option for the greatest number of citizens, he claims -- as well as at the heart of scientific progress, which also enriches the lives of those citizens. Both are 'liberal' in the classic sense of the word (not the sense in which it is usually employed in US political discourse.)
By far the best parts of the book are those Ferris devotes to history. I found myself laughing aloud at his scathing indictment of Rousseau (and sharing it, heartily), and reading with interest his thoughts on Newton, Locke and the differences between the French and American revolutions (even though the latter draw heavily on arguments made in Susan Dunn's excellent analysis, Sister Revolutions: French Lightning, American Light.) It's when he tries to extrapolate from his analysis of the past and apply it (in a surprisingly deterministic manner for someone who claims to disdain determinism) where I found myself rolling my eyes. A case in point: in his efforts to challenge dogmatic thinking (and dogma generally), Ferris takes aim at religion, which rarely encourages doubt, or at least puts it firmly in second place to faith. Fair enough. But then, he goes a step farther, trying to debunk the idea that religion can cause people to behave better by pointing out that the prison and death row populations are exponentially more religious than those of the broader community. That may well be, but Ferris seems to cheerfully discard the realization that just as there are few atheists in foxholes, so in prison it's an advantage to be religious, whether it gives a prisoner the strength to get through the day, an improved chance at parole, or just an extra hour or two out of his cell in the prison chapel once a week. That's an example of the too-often shaky logical underpinnings for Ferris's arguments, which are intriguing enough in their own right. He focuses on the atrocities committed in the name of totalitarian regimes, while overlooking the casualties incurred in the name of science and scientific research. (Just off the top of my head: thalidomide?) There are countless places in this narrative where I questioned the evidence he chose to support a point (or was bemused by the fact that he overlooked contradictory evidence.)
Despite that, this was a provocative book that made me think about these issues, and caused me to engage in a furious debate with myself (the book, alas, proving unresponsive when it came to a dialogue.) For that reason alone, I'd recommend it to anyone interested in intellectual history and political thought, although I'd encourage readers to examine Ferris's claims with just the kind of skeptical eye that he claims is essential in both scientific and political experimentation. There are some interesting ideas in here that deserve to be better supported and to win a broader audience.
Weak theory but great history June 4, 2010
Benjamin Figgis (Qatar)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What I didn't value about this book: Ferris's argument that you can't have science without liberty, and vice versa. There may be a correlation but it seems to me that science depends more on money and education than freedom from interference. And advances in liberty stemmed more from power struggles (un-enfranchised demanding rights) than scientific discoveries.
What I did value about this book: A history lesson on the enlightenment and the revolutions in England, France and US, and the main characters involved. Unfortunately I managed to get through several decades of life before really reading these fascinating stories and they are well told here.
(An aside: The weakness of Ferris's theory is clearest when he argues that democracy is like science because it involves testing different hypotheses (ie. govt policies) with the most successful being adopted by consensus. So Republicans would start supporting higher taxes if scientific studies showed they were best for human welfare? And Democrats would cut subsidies to unionized industries if objective research showed they damaged the overall economy? Shame Ferris's world is imaginery, I'd love to live there.)
 Limited. May 28, 2010
Christopher Fletcher
4 out of 14 found this review helpful
Unfortunately limited by an inadequate understanding of classical liberalism. Social security and "universal healthcare" are not successful policies, as claimed; they are empty promises of illiberal central planners that are inferior to truly liberal alternatives; also the phrase "universal healthcare" itself is dogma of the worst kind. Similarly the science of and even more so the best response to global warming are far less clear than they are presented here, as a result of scientists themselves falling prey to dogma.
 Not Ferris' best book - a bitter disappointment May 7, 2010
RJB (San Francisco Bay Area)
3 out of 11 found this review helpful
This is not Timothy Ferris' "best book". He should stick to astronomy as he has written several great lay books on that subject.
The problem with this book is that the topic is far too complicated. Sure, it reflects a lot of scholarship and citations and it is witty and engaging in style, but it misses the point.
Ok, the Nazis were terrible at science but they did have some marvelous engineering achievements, such as the ME-262 jet fighter. They had radar, but no atomic bomb. They also possessed an advanced chemical industry that was not mentioned. No one country can own science; evil people may well direct their talent base into horrendous and menacing projects. I think Mr Ferris failed to differentiate between science and technology. For example, computer technology has really impacted traditional science. This revolution was not discussed.
The Russian case makes no sense. It defies their history; namely, Russia started the 20th century as the Czarist land of serfs. They were not going to be a major player until WW2 forced their hand. The British gave them some RR jet engines after the war and they quickly came up with MIG-15. They are just one country and they have made some contributions despite some handicaps, not entirely attributed to Stalin.
Now, I would argue that America has always had an advantage over many societies, because, until recent times, we had lots of hobbyists and enthusiasts who played around with radios and cars and did amateur astronomy (just like Mr Ferris wrote about in the his previous book). I think the hot rod crowd and Radio Shack tinkerers were overlooked in this book. And, we had the books and journals (including Popular Mechanics and the National Geographic) to inspire our people.
American science! Well, he didn't mention CERN and the large scale Hadon accelerator. Nuclear physics has moved across the ocean and the US is no longer necessarily the focal point. But, we will play a significant role, but don't count on it entirely by our native base scientists. Ferris referred to the US as "best university system". Let's correct that notion; we have "some" of the best universities and "some" of the best students. But, we also have many foreign students in our science classes. Our higher education is probably suspect because 45% of the students in 1800 community colleges need English and math remedial instruction. Anecdotally, I know Swedish students who have math and language proficiency at the level of the two year graduate level = that is, they know differential and integral calculus and fluency in both English and Swedish if not another language. Likewise, Japanese students with their cram course competition know their studies much better than Americans even though most have a hard time with second languages.
He distracted us with postmoderism. I don't think there are many philosophers who would take up Didera and anti-science bias. Let me refer to a real masterpiece written almost 50 years ago: William Barrett's "Irrational Man". I note that Heidegger's philosophy is nothing like Ferris' presentation. Yes, I know about Heidegger's deplorable Nazism but you can't reject his existential Being writings simply because of it. In fact, Ferris cites the discredited Jonah Goldberg in his book - the idiot who said Democrats or Liberals are fascist. He also seems to think Milton Friedman is okay despite our financial meltdown which needs to readdress many globalization issues. And, Richard Perl shows up with a quote. I don't know about using firebrand commentary from dogmatic neo-cons. Another point: hardly any mention of intelligent design or creationism. Now, tell me what your reaction would be if you were a distinguished faculty member of UC Berkeley science and you looked across the room at the law school's idiot who advocates and prominently promoters ID. Weren't you worry about what that does to the prestige of a great university?
Instead of his political triangle, the horseshoe diagram remains a more viable standard to depict political thought.
Totalitarianism
(police state)
Communism Fascism
(command economy) (militarism, supernationalism)
Socialism Corporatism
(welfare state or safety net) (non-regulation beliefs)
(unions) (corruption and greed)
Democrats(Progressives/Liberals) Conservatives (Republicans or Libertarians)
Centrist Parties
It is difficult for me to fathom that liberty and freedom (overworked terms because of Bush) are responsible for good science. Extraordinary individuals come along and their political conviction is not part of the equation. They will do their experiments and work no matter, as long as they get the resources.
I had thought that Ferris would address how science is done in the sense that teams may be open to suggestions or may be closed to new ideas or stifling practices. In the meantime, China will out produce the US in the number of engineers and scientists but will have to wait for a generation before the labs and traditions are set to move ahead. A recent Chinese science grad will not find mentors like he or she would in the US or Europe. Not for a while. The stuff has to permeate.
A nice attempt but the subject matter is just too big and complicated. As a history of science, it's pretty good.
 Should be a required textbook in Texas and everywhere. April 22, 2010
Stephen T. Pehnec (Wyoming USA)
4 out of 7 found this review helpful
NOTE and EDIT: My initial review focused on how this book might be used to educate and enlighten the American populace and help head-off a number of troubling developments in politics, education and religion.
But the author takes a much larger view than that, helping me understand for the first time ever the differences and relationships between Liberalism, Conservatism and Progressivism in American politics first and then expanding the view to encompass the entire history of worldwide political systems, to include Communism, Fascism, and modern-day Islamism, all of which are anti-liberal, anti-scientific and anti-democratic Totalitarian systems.
Both conservatism and progressivism are equidistant from Liberalism and Totalitarianism and so can be pulled either way; unfortunately, world history records that several anti-Enlightenment philosophies have successfully produced strong drives toward Totalitarianism rather than Liberalism, actual events that have had dire consequences for the world. Islamism is nothing if not Totalitarian, and currently takes on much of the worst of Marxist and Fascist ideology. And although Mr. Ferris didn't mention it, the same trends can be observed in today's growing Christian Dominionist movements in both the American public and the military, as it sucks in large numbers of conservatives.
The good news is that liberal democracy has weathered every storm; the bad news is that forces of intolerance, authoritarian bigotry and enforced ignorance are on the march in America and I fear our foundations of liberty are in store for yet another costly test. Perhaps there is still time for an enlightened citizenry to stand up and say, "No!"
This book should become the most widely-read book of the century, both here in America and abroad. This is a Pulitzer-level work, written in a very understandable style that should be accessible to just about everyone.
***** Original review follows...
The most insidious things happening in American politics today are those seemingly based on complete ignorance (genuine or willful) of the Enlightenment principles upon which our form of government was established. We have politicians lining up for the highest offices in the nation while making public pronouncements that amount to a self-serving, do-it-yourself and blatantly bogus history of the American Experiment. There are likewise no shortages of current political philosophies based on the myth of the "noble savage", as outlined in the imaginations of Rousseau and others.
Far from trying to "return our nation to its Christian roots", the nation as a whole could benefit greatly by making a sincere effort to remember (or learn for the first time) the true story of the foundations of American democracy. Such a thing is possible and this book is a great place to begin.
Want the Truth? A fact seemingly forgotten by theocratic and other zealots actively engaged in rewriting American history for their own gain or the assumed gain of their misguided ideologies or religions is the one problem they cannot overcome: the Founders of the United States were prolific writers who recorded their thoughts for posterity and whose words are enshrined in America's national documents. The true history cannot be erased! Neither can the words of the writers who were very adept at explaining what their words meant. The Science of Liberty is a roadmap for those who want to dig deeper.
Untruths will ultimately fail their authors and promoters. The same is inevitable for lies about American history; home-schoolers may succeed for awhile, the Texas Schoolbook Commission may succeed for awhile, the current leadership of the Republican Party may succeed for awhile in suppressing the truth, but from whom? They keep it from their own children, ultimately; children who will grow up being less knowledgeable of their own nation's history than the average schoolchild in the typical European public school system.
The only places you won't find true American history being taught are in totalitarian nations fearful of the truth and, of course, in places like Texas.
And yet, such people as these have the audacity to claim that they are the best guardians of America? All history teaches us that ignorance has never been an effective defense against anything. It only allows a few at the top to profit for awhile from the ignorance of their followers.
The liberty of science is the free, unfettered investigation of the natural world. The Science of Liberty is about the efforts of free human beings, unfettered by kings or gods, to devise a system of self-governance based on hard-won experience and knowledge of the real world and human nature, a secular American Experiment, imperfect but correctable, in the same manner as true scientific endeavor.
The result has been one of the freest, one of the most progressive and one of the richest and most successful nations to have ever existed on the planet, and a template for similar democracies. The system established was not perfect and immutable, but rather a process; an unending process dedicated to being adaptable to an ever-changing future, a process that doesn't eliminate the possibility of mistakes, but one that is self-correcting, like science. America is an evolving process with no end in sight save one: the best form of human governance possible in every age.
Let this book be your guide, your inspiration for embracing the true and indelible story of the birth and development of the United States. There is no finer place to start. Better yet, buy a copy and send it to your favorite Senator, Representative, Governor or anyone else who is actively losing his way.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 16
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