Four dimensions of the scientific tradition

Abstract: Since the Scientific Revolution, claims have been made about science and on behalf of science that include not only scientific but philosophical and theological assertions. When such a wide range of issues is included within the category of scientific knowledge, distinguishing science from a religious- like ideology becomes difficult; and when the authority of science is invoked in support of metaphysical positions, further problems arise. Thus, it is crucial to identify the salient features of distinct aspects of the scientific tradition, namely, science itself, the philosophical view known as scientific realism, the metaphysical ideology of scientific materialism, and the dog- matic form of that ideology known as scientism.