Scientist do not delve into mysticism, nonetheless, when they utilize a theory or description that has been shown to be flawed, they cannot make us a map that is not in perfect agreement with the territory without being a mystic. This is arriving at a contradiction and then blaming reality. It is the ultimate evasion of accountability making the lies of politicians and the general decline in ethics seem petty in comparison. When Newt Gingrich and other conservatives claim that the American ideology of freedom is founded on mysticism, it betrays a corruption far worse than any of President Clinton's sordid escapades. The validity of ones claim to any knowledge or even justified opinion is lost when the axiom is betrayed.
All opinions become equally arbitrary and baseless.
This contagion can be seen spreading throughout our intellectual pursuits and manifesting itself in moral and ideological as well as intellectual chaos. Reason and perception are both grounded on the same first principle. The fact of the existence of self-sameness is the truth ultimately asserted by all logical truths. Without the axiom, nevertheless, all one has is disorder and uncertainty or the phony alternative of the mystic. The assaults on reason are senseless, incoherent and dripping with insincerity, but they speak to this central battle of our age.