For centuries, science and the humanities have existed in a state of uneasy coexistence. It was often portrayed as an age-old cold war. This plays out quite demonstrably in Sri Lanka’s education system. Science and math are seen as the exclusive domain reserved for the smartest and the brainiest, while the humanities are relegated to those less academically gifted. This of course encouraged a sense of hierarchy, with science seen as the objective path to progress, and the humanities as a more subjective and perhaps lesser pursuit.
Further complicating this phenomenon was the widespread reverence for Western thought, which encompassed both scientific and philosophical traditions. The intellectuals in this land readily embraced occidentalism, while retaining some respect for orientalism. Yet, a small but important group dared to question the very foundations of the Western thought.
Recently departed, Dr. Nalin de Silva belonged to that group and stood out. He was a mathematician in his own right, but his true passion lay in philosophy. He recognised the inherent limitations of a purely objective approach to scientific inquiry.
Scientists are typically not trained in philosophy. Their education emphasises an objective perspective. Philosophers often view the world subjectively. Dr. Nalin de Silva boldly challenged the objective scientific method, even going so far as to label it a falsehood. He famously called it a pattapal boru (damn lies). This stance catapulted him into a controversial position.
Chronic kidney disease research
A prime example of this was the chronic kidney disease research carried out under his guidance. The team opted not to disclose the research methodology, prompting Dr. de Silva to provide a controversial explanation – all that took the scientific fraternity by surprise.
The kidney disease called Rajarata chronic kidney disease (RCKD) has been making people sick in Sri Lanka’s North Central Province. In 2010, a team of scientists led by Dr. Priyani Paranagama, head of chemistry at Kelaniya University, tried to find the cause. Dr. Nalin de Silva offered guidance.
In June 2011, the team announced their findings. They said they discovered high levels of arsenic in the area’s drinking water, plants, rice, and other things people might consume. However, they did not share their data with the public, which made some people doubt their research methods. Because of this, some people suspected that foreign pesticides or fertilizers might be putting the arsenic into the environment.
Things got even more complicated when the news about high arsenic levels hit the agricultural industry in Sri Lanka. Another scientific group, the Industrial Technology Institute (ITI), tested rice samples using a different method and found no significant arsenic. They also checked 28 different pesticides and only found trace amounts of arsenic in three of them, nowhere near the levels claimed by Dr. de Silva’s team.
Dr. de Silva’s team defended their research. They said they used a new method to find arsenic, but they didn’t feel the need to have other scientists review their work. They also refused to publish their findings in a scientific journal because they had a disagreement about who should be credited for the initial idea behind the research.
Surprising statement
Dr. de Silva, in response, made a surprising statement. He claimed Natha god revealed the presence of arsenic through a mystic experience. De Silva also credited a samyak drshtika devivaru (deities with right view) for the initial idea.
Apparently, the scientific community did not take his claim favourably.
De Silva defended his team’s methods by arguing that scientists, relying solely on objective observation, can’t detect everything. He believed mystical insight could complement science. This view, however, clashed with the traditional scientific method, which emphasises verifiable evidence and peer review. De Silva used this phenomenon to solidify his ideal that the objective scientific method is a lie.
Dr. De Silva made things even more heated by criticising the renowned linguist Noam Chomsky. He said Chomsky was just a mouthpiece for Western Christian ideas. He was of the opinion that Chomsky’s ideas came from Western culture and promoted its interests, even though Chomsky is known for criticising powerful Western countries.
In essence de Silva challenged the idea of a single, perfect scientific method. He was influenced by Paul Feyerabend, who believed different approaches could work in science. De Silva thought science could benefit from having many ways of thinking, which he called chinthanayas.
Well-constructed stories
De Silva saw scientific theories as well-constructed stories. He believed scientists use logic and evidence (abductive reasoning) to build these stories and explain how the world works. He disagreed with the idea that science reveals absolute truth. He thought science keeps improving our understanding of the world, but there’s no single, final answer.
As a Marxist interested in both science and politics, Dr. Nalin de Silva started questioning the core ideas of both Marxism and science itself. This led him to write a book titled My World in 1986. The book criticised Western knowledge systems and how they were spread around the world, which he saw as a form of domination. He argued that there’s no single, objective reality and that knowledge isn’t discovered, but rather built based on our senses, culture, and way of thinking (influenced by Avidya concept in Buddhism).
Nalin de Silva then developed his own philosophy called constructive relativism. This idea suggests that knowledge is built on different factors, like our senses, culture, and mind.
De Silva also disagreed with the prevailing notion that light and other tiny particles act like waves. He believed the patterns for humans in experiments (like the famous double-slit experiment) are caused by the particles themselves, not waves. De Silva suggested these particles somehow pass through both slits at the same time before hitting the screen.
Early life
Nalin de Silva was born on October 20, 1944, in Kovilagodella. He was the firstborn of eight children, and both his parents were educators – his father a school principal and his mother a teacher.
De Silva’s early education took place at Bauddhaloka Maha Vidyalaya, Thurstan College Colombo, and then Royal College Colombo for his secondary years. He excelled at public speaking, even captaining the Sinhala debating team and winning the Weerasooriya medal for oratory at Royal College.
His academic journey continued at the University of Ceylon where he earned a degree in mathematics in 1967. Driven to learn more, he went on to study at the University of Sussex in England, obtaining his doctorate in theoretical physics with a focus on cosmology in 1970.
Sachitra Mahendra