Right-wing vs Left-wing science

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My history professors have all been liberals, but they kept their biases separate from the subject matter as much as possible. Even when discussing disagreements within the academic community on a particular topic, my Russian History prof presented the opposing belief at least as strongly as she did her own.


I'm pretty sure almost all my math and science profs have been liberals too. Especially the biology professors, who are turned off by the psuedo-Lysenkoist right-wing animosity toward their field. As to economics, a large majority of academic economists are politically liberal, so again... you are just factually wrong, as you almost always are. Your beliefs are not vetted against reality, and that is a serious problem in your worldview.

Orwell, I'd like to add onto and refine some of you're points, but please - this is a derailment effort. DON'T DERAIL THIS DERAILMENT EFFORT!

I don't understand why so much derailment is going on. Follow my example:

"Which one is the groom?"

(Yes, just switched your idea around ryan93)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zVCN6SFFzg&feature=related[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czum0Q_000c[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wxyq4B22FqE&NR=1[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdh70xdZHK0[/youtube]

Professors and students in most of the social and behavioral sciences trend liberal. In the physical (physics, chemistry, cosmology, astronomy) and earth (geology, meteorology, climatology) sciences, we again see a liberal trend (especially in climate studies); biology generally trends liberal as well although I would assume researchers who develop new genetic techniques for corporations like Monsanto are going to approve of genetic patents and such (a market conservative position, in my opinion, because it creates a new form of property to be privately owned). Mathematicians also trend somewhat liberal. Even in economics, you will find greater support for Democrats than for Republicans (but this varies by the school of economics). The arts and humanities (including philosophy) also trend liberal.

If you want to find the academic professions that trend libertarian or conservative, look at Bible colleges, and in more mainstream universities, look at the business school, the engineering school, R.O.T.C., and the theology department. You may find more conservatives in some of the professional schools because they have their economic self-interest in mind although I wouldn't necessarily expect them to be social/religious conservatives. I would expect a dissenting minority of conservatives in a philosophy department and perhaps even in the social sciences; the hard sciences are less politicized in general.

There are probably multiple reasons for the generally liberal trend of academics in the contemporary United States. Intellectual studies select for open-mindedness and flexibility, which isn't really compatible with the dogmatism that often accompanies today's U.S. conservatism. Self-interest also plays a role; academics can propose solutions to societal ills that use their expertise in conjunction with the government while conservatives prefer to leave solutions up to business and private charities (i.e., bypassing academia). Also, there is probably a little group conformity and self-selection at play (conservatives would go to think tanks instead of universities).

Perhaps this is true in business school, but of course no one respects the business school anyways. I doubt the engineers tend to be very conservative, as many of them are concerned about environmental matters and sustainable development. Theology will depend on the school. The chair of the religious studies department at my university is quite liberal.


I would expect law professors to be relatively conservative, but right-wing law students I know insist that their professors are all flaming liberals- not sure how much of this is just a skewed perspective.

I take it this guy was going to marry a woman involved in the Humanities, and she left him at the alter due to the hot pink suit he wore to to the wedding. Ever since then he has had a strong dislike for the intellectual side of learning

Could have been a white tux instead of a pink suit. White tuxedos are almost universally awful.

@Orwell and NeantHumain: see post #2

I had a professor of Irish history that was a raging Republican (in the Irish sense of the word).
Most of his lectures were rants against the Brits, and he liked to regale us with tales of late nights spent singing rebel songs with the locals in remote Irish pubs.
I don't think the college had any idea what sort they'd hired, as he was a "visiting" professor.
I liked him well enough, though.

I bet they are moderate, relative to other fields. Some will care. A lot will be influenced by pragmatic concerns.


No, business professors, yes. Law professors I'd expect to be liberal. The legal scholastic community tends to favor the living Constitution idea and stand against Originalism and textualism due to various problems with the approach in legal theory.

Well, since this derailment effort has been succesfully derailed, I'd like to point to this study. The OP is talking about most social sciences being left-leaning (he's right) but also thinks that's the case in the natural sciences. He's wrong as hell.

http://people-press.org/2009/07/09/publ ... lic-media/

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, by the way, consists mostly of natural scientists.

Pretty sure college professors of all disciplines are highly-disproportionately (and infamously) liberal.

Except maybe Theology. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Even then, the theology professors that rant about the God beyond God and so on are pretty liberal.