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methods of inquiry of the natural sciences are applicable to all domains of
human interest. The example of Machiavelli's latter-day detractor, Karl
Marx, whose outlook was nothing if not scientistic but who believed that
there is, or ought to be, a connection between politics and ethics, shows
that one can be beholden to scientism without rejecting virtue as the aim
of politics. And the counterexample of Confucian political philosophy
shows that one can reject virtue as a political aim while being a total
stranger to scientism.
Speaker:
Yes. But I think the point that Professor Machan was getting at
is that to understand what order and liberty are, or peace and order, you
have to get beyond the mechanistic scientistic view point to have a deep–
er view about human beings.
Richard Garner:
I want to add that Machiavelli, who certainly at times
felt himself to be an unjustly neglected advisor, would be delighted at his
ability to so magnetically distract us from discussion of the twenty-first
century.
Dmitri Urnov:
Professor Stent, can it be that your idea of a masterless
state in the realm of science, art, and literature could lead to a fundamen–
tal re-evaluation of the history of modern art, literature, and science? We
see the decline of craft or rather a violation of the principle of consisten–
cy which Niels Bohr thought to be integral for science-that every step
should incorporate the previous one, not reject it. Similarly, in art or liter–
ature, later masters could do what earlier masters could accomplish, while
post-modern artists do not possess the craftsmanship of previous masters.
Picasso could work in the traditional manner and in his own modernist,
avant-garde manner while Andy Warhol could not paint or draw.
Richard Garner:
It is late, and I have to end this session. But I think it
is the appropriate time for us all to thank Professor Kurzweil for the mas–
sive amount of work it took her to bring us all together.
Edith Kurzweil:
Thank you all for corning. Anything I could say now
would be an anticlimax. We will print the proceedings in
Partisan Review's
April 1997 issue. Now, I want to thank everybody for corning, particular–
ly the participants, most of whom traveled from far away. I also want to
thank the Advisory Board of
Partisan Review,
the Austrian Cultural
Institute, and Adelphi University for having made the whole thing possi–
ble, and Diane Cavarra for having helped me put it all together. Thank you
all.
