When Experts Are Wrong

How to Enjoy the Adventure of Not Knowing the Answers

I rarely find myself disagreeing with Wendell Berry. He is one of my favorite writers and a constant source of inspiration. However, recently I read his essay, “The Way of Ignorance.”

Here is how it begins.

“OUR PURPOSE HERE is to worry about the predominance of the supposition, in a time of great technological power, that humans either know enough already, or can learn enough soon enough, to foresee and forestall any bad consequences of their use of that power. This supposition is typified by Richard Dawkins’s assertion, in an open letter to the Prince of Wales, that “our brains…are big enough to see into the future and plot long-term consequences.” When we consider how often and how recently our most advanced experts have been wrong about the future, and how often the future has shown up sooner than expected with bad news about our past, Mr. Dawkins’s assessment of our ability to know is revealed as a superstition of the most primitive sort. We recognize it also as our old friend hubris, ungodly ignorance disguised as godly arrogance.”

Berry properly confronts the hubris that Dawkins displays. He aptly observes the predominance of this view in our culture. My issue is found in the last two sentences. In my opinion, Berry incorrectly…