Our Troubled Science: Why We Are Descending into Dark Ages.
There is a growing sense of unease among the science community
caused by the growing support of the general public for the various forms of
fundamentalism, creationism, and the increasing power of
religions generally. There seems to be a controversy between science and
religion that is, to many scientists, incomprehensible; how can anyone not
understand the very clearly presented findings of science? Why should a religion not founded on rationality have any attraction at all to anyone? The answer could
perhaps be that science is not as useful to humanity as scientists would
like us to believe.
Why should our sciences fail us? The main reason could be that for the ordinary
people whatever solace a religion can provide is easier obtainable than what science have to offer. What science can offer might be brilliant and a subject to clear
reason, but, even more so, the fruits of science are increasingly becoming
a commodity, and increasingly inaccessible to ordinary mortals. While most
people in the world live in substandard conditions, scientists,
with some debatable exceptions, spend their energy on projects that, to most
humanity, must seem trivial.
Should science regain any useful standing in the society, scientists would have
to
curtail doing whatever it is that they are busy with at the moment and seriously use
their knowledge to address the most pressing problems that we, as the whole
society, are experiencing. And not only superficially, but they would have to
strive for fundamental cures, such that would do away with the problems that
have been with humanity for almost forever, but that don't have to exist at
all--wars, poverty, humans devastating the Earth.
Unless the scientists start actively cooperating together on solving humankind's
and the Earth's dire problems soon, there is the danger of science becoming a
keepsake of the Earth's powerful factions with the vast majority of humans not
caring whether they live on a flat, or a round Earth, but interested more in
living a better quality of life, something that science cannot really provide
to a majority of them, but something that religions seem to be able to, at least, promise
to provide.
A related article: An Appeal to
Academia.
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