Defending science from all of its enemies and some of its friends

Recent debates about the values and virtues of the sciences have been marke d by philosophical errors and misunderstandings among both the supporters a nd the critics of the value of science. Some authors, such as Wilson defend ing the ultimate value of science and Appleyard decrying the influences of scientific modes of thinking, both assume the positivistic stance to unders tanding science. Others, such as Dawkins, Maddox and Wolpert, come through as scientific realists, celebrating the power of science to reach beyond wh at can be perceived. Yet all three neglect the role of instruments and appa ratus and miss the importance of the part that social forces play in the cr eation of belief. Finally Maddox slips into assuming that the only truly sc ientific approach to understanding human life scientifically is to follow t he pattern of realism and model making as it is exemplified int he physical sciences. Psychology can be scientific without being reductionist.