Pre-modern forms of authority , based predominantly upon value-rationality and natural law, are here succeeded by legal-rational forms of domination and by the rule of instrumental reason. With this, religious beliefs and ultimate ideals gradually recede from (public) life as they are disenchanted by the claims of 'rational' science and are replaced increasingly by the idealized pursuit of secular, material ends. This leads to a world in which questions of meaning and value disappear from the public arena, and in which the scope for creative action and for the pursuit of ultimate values becomes increasingly restricted. And in this regard, the twin processes of cultural and social rationalization lead to the same end: to a condition of nihilism in which the highest 'ultimate' values are devalued, or devalue themselves, and hence, for the most part, are no longer able to guide social action, which itself becomes, in turn, increasingly routinized and mundane. . Nicolas Gane
About This Quote

When referring to this quote, one must remember that the word "science" in this context refers to the pursuit of truth through the scientific method. This method has nothing to do with superstition or religion. The idea that "truth" must be stripped of all claims to authority is absurd, because truth is not a claim but a fact. If you are in need of an example of how "truth" can be stripped of all claims to authority, consider this: the Bible.

During the early modern age, when people believed in the Bible as a source of truth, it was used as a tool for religious purposes. Today, when people believe in the Bible as a source of truth, it is used for legal purposes.

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More Quotes By Nicolas Gane
  1. ... Science... denude(s) all religious beliefs... denigrating them as irrational forms of superstition or myth regardless of their intrinsic rationality or value.
  2. Pre-modern forms of authority , based predominantly upon value-rationality and natural law, are here succeeded by legal-rational forms of domination and by the rule of instrumental reason. With this, religious beliefs and ultimate ideals gradually recede from (public) life as they are disenchanted by the...
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