Knowledge and Freedom

Extract

The phrase, “science and freedom,” as it is used nowadays, is aimed at an enemy position.* The enemy not only denies science's freedom in theory, but also jeopardizes, confines, destroys it in practice.

If this enemy position is to be approached in an attempt at an intellectual confrontation, rather than assailed with a mere “demonstration” (the remarkable change of meaning that this word has undergone is a matter closely related to the theme of this paper) it is necessary for the enemy position to be understood, not just in its present form, but also in its basic foundations. Only then can a clear notion be reached of what sort of an argument is needed by way of an answer, and how strong it must be, if it is to meet the enemy position squarely, at the most telling point.