Scientific Appearence of inner passions

[the] superstition of science held to be competent in all domains, including that of morality; a superstition which, I repeat, is an acquisition of the nineteenth century.  It remains to discover whether those who brandish this doctrine believe in it or whether they simply want to give the prestige of a scientific appearance to passions of their hearts, to which they perfectly know are nothing but passions.  It is to be noted that the dogma that history is obedient to scientific laws is preached especially by partisans of arbitrary authority.  This is quite natural, since it eliminates the two realities they most hate, i.e., human liberty and the historical action of the individual.

Julien Benda (1928, The Betrayal of the Intellectuals)