Western Culture, Scientific Method and the Problem of Ethics

Abstract

The endeavor in this paper is not to solve problems but to state a point of view. For emphasis, this has been done fervently, somewhat dogmatically, and without great circumspection. The analysis of Western culture is certainly incomplete and probably exposes traits common to all cultures. Many of the points here made have recently been presented more forcefully and with better documentation by Professor F. S. C. Northrop.¹ The last part of this paper, however, departs markedly from Northrop’s thesis. In it I take a position which will, I fear, incur the criticism of many readers, since it affirms the belief that ethics is a verifiable discipline and that its formal structure should be that of a science. But my intensity of conviction on this point has grown rather than diminished as a result of discussions with fellow scientists and others.