Charles Judson Herrick...on dogmatism


Dogmatism has no place in science, and dogmatism about the unknown is especially reprehensible. We live by faith, faith in the order of nature, faith in ourselves, and faith in our fellow men. This faith is our most prevalent motivation, and it is a reliable guide for behavior just in so far as it is founded on knowledge. Where knowledge is lacking we may extrapolate with due regard for the uncertainties arising from the incompleteness of our knowledge. The mystics too often neglect this caution. The naturalists must not, and they find within the bounties of nature ample scope for their best endeavors and for the satisfaction of their highest aspirations.

We are citizens of the universe. This universe is dynamic and intrinsically creative at all levels of organization. This native creativity is amplified in the domain of organic evolution and glorified when aware of itself in human purposive planning. The sublimity of this conception of man's place in nature commands our reverence and our utmost effort to meet the demands imposed upon us by that nature which is our alma mater.

-Evolution of Human Nature, 1956