Science vs. Religion
So I have just finished reading my latest novel, Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. It is the prequel to The Da Vinci Code. I would reccomend it.
Anyway, I came across a passage in it that struck some sort of weird chord in me. For those who know me, I am a science major and more of an antheist than anything else. Studying science has opened my eyes to the fact that there is most likely not a God. Too many facts to disprove the existence of a higher being. But the passage I came across in this book seemed to me to make a whole lot of sense.
"Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and drudgery and provided an array of gadetry for our entertainment and convience, but it has left us in a world without wonder. Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies. The complexities of the universe have been shredded into mathematical equations. Even our self-worth as human beings has been destroyed. Science proclaims that Planet Earth and its inhabitants are a meaningless speck in the grand scheme. A cosmic accident. Even the technology that promises to unite us, divides us. Each of us in now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone. We are bombarded with violence, division, fracture, and betrayal. Skepticism has become a virtue. Cynicism and demand for proof has become enlightened thought. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than they have at any point in human history? Does science hold anything sacred? Science looks for answers by probing our unborn fetuses. Science even presumes to rearrange our own DNA. It shatters God's world into smaller and smaller pieces in the quest for meaning....and all it finds is more questions."
"Scientific growth is exponential. It feeds on itself like a virus. Every new breakthrough opens doors for new breakthroughs. Mankind took thousands of years to progress from the wheel to the car. Yet only decades from the car into space. Now we measure scientific progress in weeks. We are spinning out of control. The rift between us grows deeper and deeper, and as religion is left behind, people find themselves in a spiritual void. We cry out for meaning. We see UFOs, engage in channeling, spirit contact, out-of-body experiences, mindquests - all these eccentric ideas have a scientific veneer, but are unashamedly irrational. They are the desperate cry of the modern soul, lonely and tormented, crippled by its own enlightment and inability to accept meaning in anything removed from technology."
Now why is it that this feels so familiar? I'm not saying that I am turning religious but I would like everyones point of view on this. Can we really tie the increased amount of depressed individuals to scientific progress? Or is it that we now have the technology and better understanding of the human brain to properly diagnose depressed people? Maybe we need religion as a sort of moral guide to life. I never thought words like these would come from my mouth (or flow from my fingers for that matter) but it does make some sense to me. This is something to ponder.
Dan as a fellow scientist, I would like to hear your opinion.
Anyway, I came across a passage in it that struck some sort of weird chord in me. For those who know me, I am a science major and more of an antheist than anything else. Studying science has opened my eyes to the fact that there is most likely not a God. Too many facts to disprove the existence of a higher being. But the passage I came across in this book seemed to me to make a whole lot of sense.
"Science may have alleviated the miseries of disease and drudgery and provided an array of gadetry for our entertainment and convience, but it has left us in a world without wonder. Our sunsets have been reduced to wavelengths and frequencies. The complexities of the universe have been shredded into mathematical equations. Even our self-worth as human beings has been destroyed. Science proclaims that Planet Earth and its inhabitants are a meaningless speck in the grand scheme. A cosmic accident. Even the technology that promises to unite us, divides us. Each of us in now electronically connected to the globe, and yet we feel utterly alone. We are bombarded with violence, division, fracture, and betrayal. Skepticism has become a virtue. Cynicism and demand for proof has become enlightened thought. Is it any wonder that humans now feel more depressed and defeated than they have at any point in human history? Does science hold anything sacred? Science looks for answers by probing our unborn fetuses. Science even presumes to rearrange our own DNA. It shatters God's world into smaller and smaller pieces in the quest for meaning....and all it finds is more questions."
"Scientific growth is exponential. It feeds on itself like a virus. Every new breakthrough opens doors for new breakthroughs. Mankind took thousands of years to progress from the wheel to the car. Yet only decades from the car into space. Now we measure scientific progress in weeks. We are spinning out of control. The rift between us grows deeper and deeper, and as religion is left behind, people find themselves in a spiritual void. We cry out for meaning. We see UFOs, engage in channeling, spirit contact, out-of-body experiences, mindquests - all these eccentric ideas have a scientific veneer, but are unashamedly irrational. They are the desperate cry of the modern soul, lonely and tormented, crippled by its own enlightment and inability to accept meaning in anything removed from technology."
Now why is it that this feels so familiar? I'm not saying that I am turning religious but I would like everyones point of view on this. Can we really tie the increased amount of depressed individuals to scientific progress? Or is it that we now have the technology and better understanding of the human brain to properly diagnose depressed people? Maybe we need religion as a sort of moral guide to life. I never thought words like these would come from my mouth (or flow from my fingers for that matter) but it does make some sense to me. This is something to ponder.
Dan as a fellow scientist, I would like to hear your opinion.