The War on Science

1. The incursion of ideology over objective truth threatens the foundation of science

The goal of the scientific endeavor is to find out how things really are, not to confirm how we wish they were.

Erosion of scientific objectivity. Modern academic institutions are increasingly abandoning the pursuit of objective, evidence-based truth in favor of Critical Social Justice (CSJ) and postmodern ideologies. This shift replaces rigorous empirical inquiry with subjective "ways of knowing" and "lived experiences," treating scientific facts as mere social constructs.

The rise of epistemic relativism. Under this new paradigm, scientific claims are judged not by their empirical validity, but by their political utility and alignment with activist agendas. This has led to the mainstreaming of absurd claims in hard sciences, such as:

• Characterizing mathematics as a "white, cis-heteropatriarchal space"
• Labeling the use of whiteboards in physics classrooms as a reconstitution of "whiteness"
• Claiming that Einstein's theory of covariance gives marginalized groups an equal claim to objectivity

The danger of moral education. When universities prioritize moral education and political activism over scholarship, they compromise their core mission. True scientific progress requires a strict separation between personal values and empirical investigation, ensuring that research is guided by data rather than ideological desires.

2. The historical precedent of Lysenkoism warns against subordinating science to political dogma

Although it’s impossible to say for sure, Trofim Lysenko probably killed more human beings than any individual scientist in history.

Ideological corruption of biology. In the Soviet Union during the 1930s and '40s, Trofim Lysenko rejected Mendelian genetics in favor of a politically convenient, neo-Lamarckian theory of vernalization. Because his ideas aligned with Marxist-Leninist dogmas regarding the infinite malleability of nature, they were enforced by state terror under Joseph Stalin.

Catastrophic human consequences. The suppression of genuine genetic science and the persecution of brilliant scientists like Nikolai Vavilov led to agricultural collapse. The enforcement of Lysenko's crackpot theories resulted in widespread crop failures and directly contributed to:

• The starvation of millions of Soviet citizens in the 1930s and '40s
• The Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961), which killed up to 45 million people under Mao's mimicking of Soviet policies
• The imprisonment, exile, and execution of hundreds of dissenting Soviet geneticists

A timeless warning. The Lysenko disaster serves as a chilling historical warning of what happens when political orthodoxy is allowed to dictate scientific truth. When scientists are forced to grovel and retract valid findings to save their careers, the entire enterprise of human knowledge collapses, with devastating real-world consequences.

3. Biological sex is an immutable binary defined by gamete size

Relative gamete size is the only way in which the male/female distinction is defined universally across all animal phyla.

The evolutionary basis of sex. Biological sex is not a socially constructed spectrum but a fundamental binary determined by gamete size (anisogamy). Females produce large, immobile gametes (eggs), while males produce small, mobile gametes (sperm). Because there are no intermediate gametes or third gametes in animals and vascular plants, there is no third sex.

Conflating sex and gender. Activists and captured medical organizations frequently conflate biological sex with gender identity to argue that sex itself is a fluid spectrum. This is scientifically false and ignores the massive evolutionary consequences of the sex binary, which explains:

• Why females invest more heavily in parental care and gestation
• Why males exhibit greater physical ornamentation and competitive aggression
• Why sexual selection operates differently on males and females across thousands of species

The danger of denying biology. Denying the biological reality of the sex binary undercuts our ability to conduct accurate medical and evolutionary research. When academic societies and medical associations declare that sex is "assigned at birth" or is a social construct, they compromise scientific integrity to appease political lobbies.

4. Institutional censorship and self-censorship are paralyzing academic research

When scholars misattribute their rejection of disfavored conclusions to quality concerns that they do not consistently apply, bias and censorship are masquerading as scientific rejection.

The chilling effect on campus. A growing culture of fear has led to widespread self-censorship among scientists, particularly on politically sensitive topics like race, gender, and intelligence. Fearing professional ruin, public denunciation, or the loss of research funding, many scholars choose to keep their mouths shut rather than publish controversial findings.

Captured journals and publishers. Prestigious scientific journals like Nature and Science have codified policies allowing editors to reject or retract papers that might "harm" or "offend" specific groups. This soft censorship is often masked as methodological criticism, resulting in:

• The retraction of peer-reviewed papers that challenge progressive dogmas
• The refusal to publish rebuttals to highly politicized, unscientific papers
• The withholding of public, taxpayer-funded genetic databases from researchers studying behavioral genetics

The loss of public trust. When scientific institutions prioritize political correctness over empirical truth, they destroy their own credibility. The public rightfully begins to view scientists as politically motivated actors rather than objective experts, undermining trust in vital scientific consensus.

5. Even objective disciplines like mathematics are being targeted for ideological decolonization

Mathematics knows no races. For mathematics, the whole cultural world is a single country

The attack on mathematical universality. Even mathematics, the most objective of all human endeavors, is being targeted by activists who claim it is a "white, Western" construct that perpetuates privilege. Proponents of "decolonizing the curriculum" argue that teaching traditional math concepts like the Pythagorean theorem or the symbol $\pi$ is a form of cultural hegemony.

The fallacy of ethnomathematics. Activists promote "ethnomathematics" and "indigenous ways of knowing" as coequal to modern mathematics, focusing on cultural patterns rather than rigorous arithmetic and calculus. This approach is deeply flawed because:

• Mathematics deals with an abstract, objective reality that is discovered, not invented
• The historical development of mathematics is already deeply international, originating in India, the Middle East, and Greece
• Replacing rigorous mathematical training with cultural storytelling harms the very minority students it purports to help

Lowering academic standards. When universities and school boards eliminate math requirements or devalue getting the "right answer" in the name of equity, they compromise the preparation of future scientists and engineers. This ideological subversion threatens the West's ability to compete globally in technology and engineering.

6. The medical establishment is prioritizing gender-affirming ideology over evidence-based clinical standards

The gender-affirming model has upended every sacrosanct tenet of health care, infiltrating academia, research, medical schools, residency programs, general practice, and public policy.

The abandonment of evidence. The American medical establishment has uncritically embraced "gender-affirming care" (GAC) for minors, despite a lack of rigorous, long-term evidence supporting its benefits. This model requires clinicians to immediately validate a child's self-diagnosis and prescribe puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, often ignoring complex psychological comorbidities.

The suppression of international evidence. While European nations like England, Sweden, and Finland have conducted systematic reviews and severely restricted GAC for minors, US medical associations continue to promote it. This ideological capture has led to:

• The suppression of systematic reviews that find little to no evidence of GAC's benefits
• The use of emotional coercion, such as the false claim that GAC is "suicide prevention care"
• The medicalization of vulnerable children who are developmentally incapable of giving informed consent to sterilization

The rise of clinical activism. Medical schools and residency programs are increasingly replacing traditional clinical training with instruction in "structural racism" and gender ideology. When doctors are trained to be social justice activists rather than objective healers, patient trust is destroyed, and clinical standards are severely compromised.

7. The expansion of DEI bureaucracies has institutionalized discrimination and destroyed meritocracy

The demand to provide an inclusion plan without evidence that there is a need for one is compelled speech and an intrusion of ideology into the conduct of science.

The growth of administrative power. Universities have built vast diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) bureaucracies that operate independently of faculty oversight. These administrative offices do not merely monitor diversity but actively police language, control hiring, and enforce ideological conformity across all departments.

Compelled speech and political tests. Prospective faculty members in the sciences are now routinely required to submit "diversity statements" demonstrating their active commitment to the DEI agenda. This has resulted in:

• The rejection of highly qualified scientists before their research records are even reviewed
• The enforcement of ideological purity tests that require applicants to endorse controversial social justice dogmas
• The replacement of meritocratic hiring with explicit racial and gender quotas

The degradation of excellence. When hiring, promotion, and research funding are based on identity markers rather than scientific merit, the quality of research inevitably suffers. This institutionalized discrimination is fundamentally unfair to applicants and compromises the integrity of the scientific enterprise.

8. A culture of hyper-vigilant victimhood has turned universities into hostile environments for free inquiry

The true spirit of the academy is the prophetic voice that redeems.

The tyranny of offense. Modern universities have embraced a culture of victimhood where personal offense is conflated with violence and used as a weapon to silence dissent. Activist students and faculty routinely organize online outrage mobs to demand the cancellation, demotion, or firing of anyone who challenges progressive orthodoxy.

The failure of administrative courage. Rather than defending academic freedom, university administrators almost always capitulate to the demands of censorious mobs. This cowardice has led to:

• The cancellation of invited lectures by distinguished scientists
• The forced resignation of beloved teachers and researchers who stated biological facts
• The creation of "safe spaces" that shield students from challenging ideas, increasing their anxiety and reducing critical thinking

The destruction of collegiality. When universities encourage students to report "offensive" language and police their peers, they destroy the trust necessary for academic progress. A vigorous dialectic is essential for science, and this cannot function unless ideas can be actively questioned, debated, and even attacked.

9. The desexing of language in women's health research and care marginalizes female-specific science

Desexing the language of women’s health is a major intervention, one that should not be made without a strong evidence base.

The erasure of women. In a misguided effort to be inclusive of transgender individuals, medical journals and health organizations are systematically replacing sexed terms like "women" and "mothers" with desexed jargon. This includes terms like "birthing people," "bodies with vaginas," and "chestfeeding."

The harm to public health. This desexing of language is not an innocuous semantic change; it introduces dangerous inaccuracies and confusion into health communications. Research shows that:

• Desexed language is confusing and offensive to many women, particularly those with low health literacy
• It compromises the clarity of vital public health messages, such as cervical cancer screening promotions
• It marginalizes female-specific science by making the biological reality of female reproduction invisible

Cultural imperialism in medicine. The pressure to desex language is a form of Western cultural imperialism, imposing a highly specific gender identity ideology on non-Western countries and cultures. This is particularly egregious when international health organizations require developing nations to adopt these confusing and alienating terms.

10. Restoring academic excellence requires a commitment to free speech, institutional neutrality, and merit

To perform its mission in the society, a university must maintain an extraordinary environment of freedom of inquiry and maintain an independence from political fashions, passions, and pressures.

The need for systemic reform. To save universities from their self-inflicted decline, we must embark on a comprehensive plan to restore academic excellence. This requires a return to the core mission of the university: the unfettered pursuit, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge.

Five key commitments for recovery. Universities must actively implement and enforce policies that protect the scientific process from political interference, including:

• Adopting the Chicago Principles to guarantee absolute freedom of speech and inquiry
• Enforcing the Kalven Report's mandate of strict institutional neutrality on social and political issues
• Maintaining the Shils Report's requirement that all hiring and promotion be based on scientific merit alone
• Dismantling the bloated DEI bureaucracies that enforce ideological conformity
• Fostering true viewpoint diversity by actively recruiting and welcoming heterodox scholars

The courage to speak out. Ultimately, the depoliticization of science depends on the courage of individual scientists and scholars. We must refuse to self-censor, reject compelled speech like diversity statements, and stand up for science and reason against the incursions of ideology.