Mechanical Human Sciences

A mechanistic paradigm for understanding individual human beings, viewing the person as a biological machine whose components (genes, neurotransmitters, cognitive modules) can be isolated, studied, and repaired independently. It is the philosophy behind much of biomedicine and behavioral psychology: identify the broken part, fix or replace it, restore normal function. This approach has achieved astonishing successes (antibiotics, joint replacements) but struggles with conditions where the "machine" metaphor breaks down.

Mechanical Human Sciences Example: Testosterone replacement therapy for low libido is Mechanical Human Science. The logic is straightforward: identify a deficient hormone, supplement it, restore function. This works beautifully when the system is truly a simple input-output machine. It fails when the "deficiency" is caused by stress, relationship conflict, or depression—states that are not mechanical failures but adaptive responses the machine metaphor cannot comprehend.

by Dumu The Void February 11, 2026

Mechanical Social Sciences

A reductionist approach to studying society that models human behavior using principles derived from classical physics: equilibrium, linear causality, and predictable, law-like regularities. It treats individuals as interchangeable particles, societies as closed systems, and social change as a series of push-pull forces. This was the dominant ambition of 19th-century sociology (Comte's "social physics"), and it persists in certain economic models and policy frameworks that assume predictable responses to incentives.

Mechanical Social Sciences Example: Rational Choice Theory in economics is Mechanical Social Science. It assumes humans are utility-maximizing particles, markets are frictionless planes, and prices are forces that drive systems to equilibrium. This model is mathematically elegant and occasionally predictive—but it systematically fails when humans behave emotionally, culturally, or altruistically. It is physics envy applied to the messy, meaningful business of social life.

by Dumu The Void February 11, 2026