Beyond the Hoax: Science,
Philosophy and Culture by Alan
Sokal
Scintillating And Badly Needed
When physicist Alan Sokal revealed that his 1996 article, Transgressing
the Boundaries: Toward a Transformative Hermeneutics of Quantum
Gravity, published in Social Text, was a hoax, the ensuing scandal made
the front page of the New York Times and caused an uproar among the
post-modernists he had so hilariously--and convincingly--parodied.
Now, in Beyond the Hoax, Sokal revisits this remarkable chapter in our
intellectual history to illuminate issues that are with us even more
pressingly today than they were a decade ago. Sokals main argument,
then and now, is for the centrality of evidence in all matters of public
debate. The original article, (included in the book, with new explanatory
footnotes), exposed the faulty thinking and outright nonsense of the
postmodernist critique of science, which asserts that facts, truth, evidence,
even reality itself are all merely social constructs. Today, right wing
politicians and industry executives are happily manipulating these basic
tenents of postmodernism to obscure the scientific consensus on global
warming, biological evolution, second-hand smoke, and a host of other

issues. Indeed, Sokal shows that academic leftists have unwittingly
abetted right wing ideologies by wrapping themselves in a relativistic fog
where any belief is as valid as any other because all claims to truth must
be regarded as equally suspect. Sokals goal, throughout the book, is to
expose the dangers in such thinking and to defend a scientific worldview
based on respect for evidence, logic, and reasoned argument over wishful
thinking, superstition, and demagoguery of any kind.
Written with rare lucidity, a lively wit, and a keen appreciation of the
real-world consequences of sloppy thinking, Beyond the Hoax is essential
reading for anyone concerned with the state of American culture today.
Personal Review: Beyond the Hoax: Science, Philosophy and
Culture by Alan Sokal
It was a delightful episode. For nearly two generations, the philosophical
French Pox had suffused through North American universities.
"Postmodernism" created artificial new disciplines, set a still unmatched
standard for obfuscation, and lambasted science whenever its practitioners
found the opportunity. Being busy with other things, researchers had little
time to respond with more than a sad shaking of the head. Suddenly, and
quite unexpectedly, physicist Alan Sokal [who?] produced an article on
quantum gravity, drafted in the best elusive "pomo" style and publised it in
a leading postmodernist journal, Social Text.
It was a hoax. Beautifully conceived and wonderfully executed, Sokal's
article demonstrated to all what a different kind of hoax had been
perpetrated on North American education. In this lively recapitulation of
the episode, Sokal uses the article - with updating comments - to explain
his motives and to expand on them with additional essays. The original is
reprinted with Sokal's commentary on what spoofs, solopsisms, outright
flattery of Socal Text's editors and purposeful scientific errors even a first-
year physics student would question. Obviously, none of that mattered,
since the syntax was so clearly in a form those editors cherished, the "peer
reviewers" overlooked or were ignorant of, the gaffes. Besides a scientist
writing for a journal long known to criticise science. He was one of their
own!
Revelation of the parody in another pomo journal brought much glee to the
scientific community, among others, but the project failed in one significant
regard. The pomo movement did not wither away - indeed many of its
adherents still occupy university chairs. "Truth" is still being equated with
"belief" and objective facts are readily dismissed for unverifiable
alternatives and "feelings" accepted more than data. The following essays
demonstrate that illogical thinking, rejection of the scientific method did not
diminish and pseudoscience is actually on the rise. In one truly frightening
essay, Sokal describes the psuedoscience that is permeating the North
American nursing profession. Deemed - among other terms - "Therapeutic
Touch", its practioners claim certain healing skills by not "touching" at all!
Although the practice was exposed by an 11-year-old girl at a science fair,

classes in the technique are given in at least 80 college and university
schools across North America, with an equal number of hospitals
sponsoring its use.
As he notes, Sokal's original - and ongoing - aim is to protect students from
falling prey to the mass of false or misleading claims about science, about
the finding and use of evidence, about the evils of "credential-mongering"
and to encourage critical thinking generally. He provides numerous
examples, even ranging so far afield as an examination of the rise of
postmodernism in India. There, the attacks on science seen in the West
have expanded and intensified in Vedic Hinduism, a movement wrapped in
anti-colonialist nationalism and ethno-centrism. Social commentators
Meera Nanda and Vandana Shiva - oft-cited by Western relativist
academics, are shown as Asian heirs to the French tradition. Both call for
"alternative sciences", which remain poorly formulated.
This discussion of a religiously-based rejection of objective science is a
proper lead to his final chapter, "Religion, Politics and Survival". If there is
one area where "evidence" is discounted and even avoided, it is in the
promulgation of religion. For Sokal, the issue goes well beyond simple
personal considerations because making decisions without assessing
valid information distorts how we make choices. Evidence, he argues,
must come first, whether in social situations, politics or even buying an
auto. "Faith", he says, "is not a rejection of reason, but the lazy
acceptance of bad reasons". Using Sam Harris' "End of Faith" and Rabbi
Michael Lerner's "Spirit Matters", the author closely examines the books
and the questions they raise. Among these is the attitude of his
countrymen at election time. "Moral values" was the highest rated reason
given for making a choice in the 2004 presidential election - with the term
being a code-word for opposition to abortion and gay marriage. Given that
most people have no real idea what is involved in such situations, Sokal
argues that decisions based on deluded sources are flawed. Ethical ideas
can be assessed in secular terms and that's an idea he wishes extended.
Although this book may seem dated to the uninitiated - we don't encounter
the term "postmodern" as much as we used to, the basic philosophy
remains widespread. By eschewing realistic foundations for our patterns
of living, we may be heading into a pre-Enlightenment version of modern
society. Should anybody wish this sort of regression, they are free to try it
outside a society where the powers available are kept out of harm's way.
[stephen a. haines - Ottawa, Canada]
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