Launching a Second Scientific Revolution

The following is adapted from a speech delivered at a Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar on April 28, 2026, in Dana Point, California. At the root of the scientific revolution was the idea that there was not and should never be a scientific authority. For centuries, a small number of ecclesiastical powers had decided such questions as whether the moons of Jupiter move. The scientific revolution placed these questions in the hands of a lot of very smart scientists, including those with telescopes. Unfortunately, we find ourselves back in a situation today, as demonstrated a few years ago by the...