scientism

American  

[sahy-uhn-tiz-uhm] / ˈsaɪ ənˌtɪz əm /

noun

1. the style, assumptions, techniques, practices, etc., typifying or regarded as typifying scientists.

2. the belief that the assumptions, methods of research, etc., of the physical and biological sciences are equally appropriate and essential to all other disciplines, including the humanities and the social sciences.

3. scientific or pseudoscientific language.

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scientism British  

/ ˈsaɪənˌtɪzəm /

noun

1. the application of, or belief in, the scientific method

2. the uncritical application of scientific or quasi-scientific methods to inappropriate fields of study or investigation

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Other Word Forms

• scientistic
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of scientism

First recorded in 1875–80; scient(ist) + -ism

Example Sentences

Pope Leo warns repeatedly against both economism and scientism: the temptation to reduce human beings to market functions or material processes.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

“I think it’s dangerous to lean too far into scientism, which is when you see the world exclusively through the lens of whether something is backed by science,” O’Keefe said.

From Slate • Oct. 20, 2022

But his consilience project stems from excessive faith in science, or scientism.

From Scientific American • Jun. 25, 2021

An incoherent mix of ambitious scientism and post-Protestant moralism and simple greed would still be the ruling spirit.

From New York Times • May 26, 2018

Within my generation the vanguard of humanity has passed from the age of traditionalism to that of scientism and this transition is the greatest and most salutary event in the whole history of humanity.

From Communism and Christianism Analyzed and Contrasted from the Marxian and Darwinian Points of View by Brown, William Montgomery