Summoning Wind and Rain: Studying the Scientization of Fengshui in Singapore

Abstract

This thesis examines the processes of and the reasons for the scientization of fengshui in Singapore. There are many ways in which fengshui could possibly be `scientifically¿ reinvented. However, the Singaporean case shows that the re-invention has taken shape in five main processes, namely, professionalization, instrumental rationalization, secularization, intellectualization, and individualization, which together constitute the fengshui-scientization trend. These processes alter the epistemological foundation, logic, appearance, and mode of accessing fengshui, consequently transforming the art from a cultural practice laden with traditional Chinese symbolism into sets of scientific techniques that emphasize the rational calculation of `fortune¿.

In this thesis, I aim to show that fengshui-scientization is not the mere mimicry of conventional scientific ethos, but a dynamic process that involves the adaptation of a traditional art to modern circumstances constituted by the ideological and institutional frameworks in Singaporean society. In adapting to these frameworks, `scientized¿ fengshui exhibits the `orthodoxy¿ that is established by the former and reflected in the Singaporean `doxa¿ of pragmatism, secularism, and self-reliance. Therefore, it accommodates the worldviews of middle-class Singaporeans by maintaining resonance between their habitus and the Singaporean doxa.