Understanding the British psyche from a philosophical standpoint gives much reason to believe that Britain does not only possess an insular island mentality but also a strong liberal and empiricist tradition. 

Indeed, Britain’s empiricist movement has sought to propound the ideas that the origin of all knowledge is based on experience derived from the senses. The first explicit formulation of empiricism was by the British philosopher John Locke in the late 17th century. The major figures in the movement were John Locke, George Berkeley and David Hume. 

The empiricist movement in the UK has cascaded down the years and influenced Britain’s Brexit movement. It was only a matter of time as to how much longer Britain could co-exists within the EU. The UK has always been progressive in its scientific research, e.g., in stem cell research. Scientific experimentation of its very nature cannot be stopped by being stifled by continuous rules and regulations.

Britain is the country that has come up with many inventions over a period of 500 years and it was the country where the Industrial Revolution commenced and spread to the European continent and to America. 

Inasmuch as the British political establishment believes in political correctness, the British in general are progressive when it comes to scientific experimentation having a hands-on attitude of and inductive reasoning where scientific progress knows no bounds.

This empiricist movement has influenced many countries (including Malta) apart from Britain and many have even become ultra-atheist and doubt the metaphysical to the point where faith in God does not exist.

Faith is what you believe in and this drive towards innovation and cutting-edge technology has made millions around believe, with a certain degree of devotion, that technology is a means of achieving some spiritual or material improvement. Are we making technology and science our new religion? Have our lives become so dominated by technology that people are becoming so addicted to such habits like online gaming and online gambling that they literally die in front of their computers? Many of us start the day in front of the screen and end it in the same way. It is dominating us in many ways.

Instead of technology and science being the means to an end, they have become in many ways an end in themselves. We need to learn that all material things should lead us to a higher spiritual level and not a source of enslavement and materialistic isolation.

 

Anthony Zarb Dimech

Birkirkara