Article:
The Limits of Science
by: Anthony Gottlieb
Thesis: Although quite often it may seem as
if science can answer all your questions, it has its limits to resolving
issues; when that happens, it is best to be non-judgmental about things.
Anthony
Gottlieb, an author of the Intelligent Life magazine, argues that people’s
beliefs are greatly influenced my science. They believe that science is the
answer to every posed problem in the universe; and when science seems to reach
a stump, people believe the idea theory proposed to them. I agree with
Gottlieb’s argument when it comes to people’s response to this stump. He
supports his argument by talking about the fact that science hasn’t reached its
peak of development, and cannot answer all our questions. Although people such
as Einstein may have a fixed position in science due to their discoveries,
there is still a possibility for error in their findings, as Anthony Gottlieb
would further explain. Religion, being an opposing idea to science, raises
questions on whether it’s could be a possibility when science loses its hold on
humanity. Similar to this topic, Ken Kesey’s novel One Flew over the
Cuckoo’s Nest explains how not everything can be healed by science, and
this is when the option of elimination was taken into consideration.
Being
brought up a Christian, I am often confused on which side to take. Science
seems to have a plausible explanation, but the bible shows no evidence
whatsoever. My mind gets into a state of chaos when science isn’t able to prove
something to me; I think back and wonder whether Christianity is ultimately the
answer, just without the evidence for the time being. My parents always wanted
me to believe that religion is the answer, that God is the one that makes the
decisions. As a child, it wasn’t hard to convince me, but growing up I started to
realize the difference. I still believe in God, but not as the answer to
everything. In my opinion, there’s shouldn’t be only one particular theory
being an issue. This will only allow for judgmental opinions when you reach
that stump, as Anthony Gottlieb would further explain.
In
Ken Kesey’s book One Flew over The Cuckoo’s Nest, the patients are said
to be the outcasts, the damaged ones of society. Kesey explains how it’s the
Combine’s role to fix these people. They do this using several different methods,
one of them being ECT (Electroshock Therapy). This is a good example showing
how as science advances, the patients have a better chance of being restored to
the person that can get accepted into society. When the patients cannot be
fixed, the combine gets rid of them, one way or the other. This is related to
Gottlieb’s idea since when science doesn’t solve something, people refer to
other methods; similar to how the Combine eliminated the patients when they get
out of control.
In
simpler words, Anthony Gottlieb explains how it’s in human natural to seek an
explanation to everything in life. When it seems impossible to gain one, we act
irrationally without thinking. People lose all hope when experts can’t solve an
issue, or whether scientific beliefs can be proven right or wrong.
Religion
plays an important role when it comes to contradicting science’s ideas. This conflict
on whether religion or science is right, have been leading more towards the
side of science. When it comes to Anthony Gottlieb’s opinion that science can’t
solve everything, Ken Kesey’s book supports this argument by talking about the patients
and the consequences they have to suffer because science can’t solve anything. Gottlieb
finally concludes with his opinion that today’s scientific beliefs are most
likely wrong, but only the future generations can figure that out.
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