Philosophy vs. Science; Proverbs 5:21-23
Not much from me today I’m afraid - I’m tired and I’m ready to start work tomorrow bright at early at… 8:00am! Eeek!
Anyhow, part of my day today was spent reading the Usenet message boards, in particular the philosophy one. There were a bunch of people trying to piss off the philosophy people, saying that science is more superior than philosophy (the original post was on the subject that the sciences were one time just a branch of philosophy [hence Ph. D = Doctor of Philosophy]). So I decided to piss off the people who hold science so holy and supreme.
I basically said that while science offers us cures for diseases and extension of our lifespan, it doesn’t necessarily have an impact on our lives - that is, it doesn’t help us grow into better people. It just extends our life. More importantly, science doesn’t give us answers into the questions that really matter in life - i.e. the “Why?” questions. Traditionally, philosophy has been mocked as the meaningless pursuit, since it seems to be all theory and doesn’t produce results. While on the other hand, science is always in action, producing things that help our physical bodies.
Oh joy, something to fix my body, but nothing to fix my mind or to give me answers as to the purposes of life, or how to become a better person. If we did not have bodies, science would be completely useless…
Ok, that’s it for my anti-science rant. I just want to qualify this with saying that I appreciate science. There is no doubt it has helped the quality of life over the past couple of centuries. However, this is purely on a physical quality scale. Add to that the fact that science pursues no other end than in hoping to achieve a greater understanding of the physical world. Here’s an analogy: it’s like a person who has been confined to a certain space in their house and yard. Along the way, this person decides to dedicate their life to discovering and catalogueing the world around them. But it’s like collecting stamps - it serves no purpose but to pass time. This is science embodied - the person with a pointless hobby. No effort is made to improve himself as a person or, if there are other people in his house and yard, no effort is made to improve his relationship with them, since examining his house and yard take priority.
In summary, science has no end, and can only be used as a means. So it is not the end-all - something else is needed. On the other hand, philosophy seeks to help people become better persons, to know themselves better, to behave well with other people, and most importantly, to find THE end, THE telos, THE purpose of life. Dismissing philosophy is like the stamp collector dismissing the wise man and laughing him off, ignoring him to pursue his stamp collection.
“For human ways are under the eyes of
the Lord,
and he examines all their paths.
The iniquities of the wicked ensnare
them,
and they are caught in the toils of
their sin.
They die for lack of discipline,
and because of their great folly they
are lost.”
Proverbs 5:21-23