The late Fr. Jaki who was a physicist/priest/science historian said that the Church was the mid-wife for the scientific method. He persuasively makes this case in his book “Science & Creation, from eternal cycles to an oscillating universe” where he goes through the different cultures and compares them. Quite fascinating reading how belief in eternal cycles frustrated the scientific method from developing.
So is it cultural appropriation for non-Western countries to use the scientific method?
The answer is of course no since cultural appropriation should be mocked, mocked and then mocked. Not surprised that multiculturalism has developed to this sad state. Mainly instead of “E pluribus unum” it was always more like a centrifuge separating elements from each other. So this is really the projected outcome. I much prefer the model of cultural cross-pollination where ideas and more transient aspects of culture see wider adoption. Sure this results in adaptations that stray rather far from their sources. Some of these adaptations are much more consequential than others. Culinary ones less so as there is always room for the revival of the more “authentic” and are often advertised as such. Not that there aren’t problematic adaptations. Some can be either intentionally mocking of their source or easily inferred as such.
The problem we are seeing now on College campuses is that any adaptation or even straight importation is seen as inherently evil. This is such a total fundamental understanding of the ways cultures develop and it is not based on a “clean room” environment developing totally on its own. No doubt they have zero understanding of exactly what setting the university developed in and all the other debts to Western Civilization (which of course also had cross-pollination from other cultures).
I consider it of paramount importance to try to understand the arguments of others. I can only to a very small degree understand the arguments regarding cultural appropriation. Still what annoys me most about this argument is that there are serious problems, injustices, and disparities in the world. Although I guess this is nothing new as Jesus charged the Pharisees “You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!” (Mt 23:24)
1 comment
I have found it interesting to use the idea of cultural appropriation to discuss transgenderism, especially the idea that men (either XY chrom “women” or XX chrom “men”) should be supported in giving birth and breastfeeding – er, “chestfeeding”. Since the inherent dependency that comes from birthing and nursing babies led to women being viewed (and sometimes treated) as the “weaker” sex, it can be argued that for someone from the “stronger” or “master” side to try to take on the special accoutrements of the weaker side would be a clear case of inappropriate cultural appropriation. “I’ll be a man with all the power that entails, but I’ll also do the special woman stuff! Cuz I’m ALL that!”
Interesting point about scientific method as cultural appropriation. I think, instead of just mocking the idea, we can use it to tease out some of the inherent irrationality in the current worldviews… both the view of cultural appropriation as always bad, and the view of a scientific approach to life as being self-evident (or in my case above, the view that transgender issues in reproduction (?!?!) should just be treated as live-and-let-live, or even as celebrate-me-for-who-I-am).
(love reading your blog as always – mostly a lurker)