An effort should be made to dispel the misunderstandings that still prevent the much-needed synthesis and mutual supplementation of science and the humanities.
Topic
The misunderstanding between science and the humanities — and why a "scientific humanism" can reconcile them.
Framework
Problem-Solution. The author identifies mutual misconceptions between scientists and humanists, then proposes that recognizing common objectives (a clearer understanding of people and their world) can reconcile the two.
Main Point
Misunderstandings between science and the humanities can and should be dispelled. Both fields share the goal of understanding people and the world, and a "scientific humanism" combining the two is possible if we focus on common objectives rather than different means.
P1: The thesis
An effort should be made to dispel misunderstandings preventing the synthesis of science and the humanities. The reconciliation should be possible once we see the separation rests on a basic misunderstanding of both fields' philosophical foundations.
P2: The humanists' caricature of science
Some humanists identify science with absurd mechanistic reductionism — that scientists care only about "bodies in motion" and ignore essential human values. They claim aspects of mind in morality, religion, and art contain an irreducible spiritual element science cannot explain.
P3: The scientists' caricature of humanists
Some scientists view humanists as interested only in emotion and sentiment, displaying "vagrant fancies of an undisciplined mind." Such pragmatists see the humanities as useless because they don't serve immediate technological function — and treat morality, religion, and the arts as secondary.