The scientific method?

As a trial lawyer of 30-plus years, I was extremely disturbed by Stephen Schoeman's letter in the February 1 News urging a re-evaluation of the "adversarial paradigm" in favor of the "scientific method."

I would ask him to read The Common Law by Oliver Wendell Holmes, in which the illusory nature of "truth" is explored, as well as the failings of human beings to perceive "truth" infallibly. Holmes asserts that the purpose of the legal system is to settle disputes in a manner satisfactory to the end of social peace, as "truth" is subject to "the prevalent moral and political theories, intuitions of public policy, avowed or unconscious" and is inherently subjective.

Holmes contrasts this with the French system in which "truth" is sought to be "established." "Truth," like beauty, is often in the eye of the beholder.

The scientific method is used to study the nature of our world, its "truth." That truth has changed dramatically from a flat, geocentric system, to the vast universe we now perceive. Good science consists of "truth" being constantly challenged, and is best served when debate is robust. But wait, that sounds a lot like the "adversarial system;" it is, in fact, to the affairs of society what the...