Friday, February 10, 2012

the presumptions of science are no more than one more channel on an outdated tv set

i wish to thank stu and sally
for the lively and deep reflection/conversation
elucidating as it were
the inner sentiments of science and scientists
thinking of god

i am taking my point of departure here
in concern for the words written by pierre tielhard de chardin sj
regarding the awareness of man
with the new astounding power in the 1940s
the power to devastate the world with atomic fire

it is my particular bias that the collective thinking
inherent in the "progress" of science reached a turning point
toward general hubris in the 20th century
with regards to two ends of the life spectrum
which have now come under confident control of the
world of technology and medical science
i regard this rather tentatively for i view the advance
as one riddled with ignorance
and thus subject to tragedy

the effort to gain control over human reproduction
through the use of synthetic contraception and abortion
has spelled a definitive break with the past
birth even conception was considered something both
ordinary
and miraculous
as well as life threatening
today at least in the countries sporting medical self confidence
there appears to be a sense of control over these matters
in ways mankind in general has never known

and with the development of nuclear power
it is clear but never really stated much anymore
that there is in the possession of the military
(if no one else)
the inherent ability to extend widespread destruction
if not the ability to wipe out all signs of human life
at least to reduce human life to a desperate remnant
(one that has been imaginatively explored in various science fiction modes)

the overarching question which i intend to bring to
the elevated discussions here at communitas dies
is:
does science serve some useful purpose
in beginning developing maintaining and propogating
community life?

a physicist i know will say:
well if you have a campfire you have science

but i am thinking of applied science
the science we confront daily
the science which is held out before us
as somehow essential to viable patterns of survival

i ask myself
where does "science" enter into the life i live
and how essential is it
can a community live without reference to scientific knowledge??

consider the community in which i presently reside:
where does science meet the reality of daily life?
my abbot is a chemist
( i have wondered whether or not his training in chemistry
affects his way of thinking in his role as "christ in our midst")

certainly science is involved in the architecture
certainly science is involved in the heating and cooling of buildings
certainly science comes into play in the feeding of 2000 plus people every day
plumbing electricity computers automobiles
the teaching of science is at a premium on this college campus
(recent reports hold that an alumnus is set to go into space with NASA)

but these matters are directed toward education primarily
and i find myself asking:
what good is any of this to me?

i contend that most applied science is both useless
and highly exaggerated in importance
i do not need atomic accelerators or any knowledge that comes form them
i do not need astronomy
i do not need geology (although i dream of rocks and volcanoes and
tectonic plates)
i do not need any of the science associated with microbiology
i do not need most medical science
i do not need computers
i do not need laboratories
i do not need anything that comes from the human sciences
(in fact i have recently concluded that there is something horribly bereft
in the presumptions of these disciplines)

any community must find practical means by which
to sustain life
heat food light sanitation
these seem to be the basics upon which any community could
sustain some form of shared life

a christian community must attend to the word
and reason and knowledge enter deeply into this matter of lived expression

thus i regard that there is quite a distinction between
running an institution
one which requires intensive attention to practical scientific matters
and sustaining a community

theoretically a community could band together around
a fire around tents or teepees
hunting fishing gardening might all require some form of "knowledge"
and be indeed increased with efficiency
given data from the world of scientific trial and error

humans are inclined to knowing
this is a given
a community might be understood as a place of shared knowing

i will contend that what is promulgated as "science" in our day is
essentially superfluous
unnecessary
nothing comes to us through the world of science
which cannot be safely done without

this is not to say that there is no usefulness
in knowing the movement of the stars
the twitching and rumblings of the earth
the chemistry of things
all knowledge is to some extent useful

but a basic community must recognize that
science is far less important
than the willingness to enter into a shared life
with basic food basic prayer
and a commitment to reflection
a commitment to a way of knowing which is not so much applied
as contemplated

i call for the end to practical science
it must no longer be taught in the schools
philosophy is the goal
and leisure is the context

to hell with the pragmatists and utilitarians

to heaven with those who know
it is enough to pray
and entrust ones livelyhood to the will of

god

13 comments:

  1. "Let the music keep our spirits high;
    Let the buildings keep our children dry;
    Let creation reveal its secrets
    bye and bye"

    Jackson Browne
    After the Deluge

    I think JB agrees with you. A minimal amount of technology (buildings & musical instruments) are sufficient for human life. We need not be in a rush to dissect creation to learn her secrets.

    In his book, In the Beginning, Benedict XVI makes a case for the importance of the doctrine of creation, which I think is somehow relevant to what you are saying here. What used to be called "creation", science now speaks of as "nature" or "the cosmos"--an object to be studied. He traces this shift back to Giordano Bruno in the 15th/16th centuries and presents the motivation for this change of view as being our reluctance to see the world as contingent, dependent on God. The word "creation" signifies "the world's dependence on something other than itself." As Benedict describes this view: "The contingency of individual things is indisputable, but the contingency of the world as a whole is not accepted."

    He describes the present view of "nature" as an object to be studied and controlled by humankind as a form of Gnosticism. In this view, belief in creation of the world by a loving God is rejected because "Love appears too insecure a foundation for life and the world. It means one has to depend on something unpredictable and unenforceable, something we cannot certainly make for ourselves, but can only await and receive. ... The Gnostic option aims at knowledge and at power through knowledge, the only reliable redemption of humankind. Gnosticism will not entrust itself to a world already created, but only to a world still to be created. There is no need for trust, only skill."

    Benedict presents the Christian option as the opposite of this: "Humans are dependent. They cannot live except from others and by trust. ... Dependence in the form of love precisely constitutes the self as self and sets it free, because love essentially takes the form of saying, 'I want you to be.' Humans are dependent--that is the primary truth about them. And because it is, only love can redeem them, for only love transforms dependence into freedom. The fundamental Christian attitude is one of humility, a humility of being, not a merely moralistic one: being as receiving, accepting oneself as created and dependent on 'love.'"

    I like it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. jh,

    Let me suggest, gently, that you see an idealized past that never was: a past in which the Christian west possessed a ubiquitous faith, and in which the Catholic Church was its unchallenged custodian.

    And yet, consider the history of mendicant and monastic orders, from the desert fathers through the present day. Wiki: Catholic religious orders lists 24 such, and it does not list the desert fathers, so it is not comprehensive. Each order was a reaction against its day, a choice by a community of the faithful to establish an identity separate from the society in which they found themselves. Each such community sought a more perfect realization of the Kingdom of God. The continual formation of these communities over the past two millenia witnesses that the perfect past never was.

    As for the present, science is not a challenge to faith, however it is portrayed. If anything, the increasingly widespread acceptance of science represents an acceptance of the notion that truth is not arbitrary, it is not pliable, it is not merely the projections of our wills onto the world. The scientist and theologian stand shoulder to shoulder in agreement on these fundamental question of epistemology: the truth is external to us, and it can be known. The details of their disagreements matter, but it is always more productive to have honest opponents, as scientists are.

    And let me suggest that by raising a false past, and viewing the present as a failure as measured against it, you're missing part of God's will for you. God placed you, not five-hundred years ago, but today. Have confidence that he has his reasons! In the recent past, we let the ubiquitous superficial "social" Christianity veil our eyes. If that veil has been torn away, it doesn't mean that the past was better, only that we were less aware of its defects. And as regards the present, we suddenly find ourselves in the biggest mission field since Paul stepped off the boat at Thessalonica. Be joyful! The harvest awaits.

    ReplyDelete
  3. i suppose i could be a little more up front and reveal the epistemological background of my post

    of course i tend to be fairly transparent for thsoe who catch my drift and as for as commentators go stu and sally are the only ones with enough patience and interest to respond...don't know what's become of J and kirby is so busy trying to juggle and play badmitton at the same time while reciting gregory corso poetry that he has no time for me...so....

    where i am reacting these days is in line with the thesis of charles taylor who posits the view that the last 500 yrs has been marked by a depletion in the enchanted world of the middle ages which by the time of luther was fairly pervasive...the enlightenment and the renewed age of reason along with the march of industrialism has taken up the utilitarian and pragmatic cause to fashion a world largely dependent upon the presuppositions of scientific discovery and the reductionist theories of freud marx and darwin
    ( the high priests of secular faith )

    i also am more than willing to agree that the motivations and agendas of science and the inculcation of scientific rhetoric into culture has been to a large extent successful...arguably more successful than the efforts of religion namely christianity to bring about a societal atmosphere of pervasive allegiance

    ...my argument is more toward the observation that science in general is an exaggerated claim...there is a plethora of pretense that never (or seemingly never) gets exposed...we go about immersed in the science as if it is the greatest thing and in reality it amounts to almost nothing and in many cases shows itself to be detrimental...i'm thinking of the genome project and the tendency to manage human life from the laboratory

    it is safe to say that by the time of thomas aquinas there existed a fairly unified social medium of christian practice from ireland to russia...of course there were pockets of older traditions and the practice of pagan festivals still emerged almost every turn of the season...but charlemagne had all but universalized the working currents of christian practice...and yes there were a succession of breakaway groups dominicans franciscans jesuits hospitalers of god etc etc and then in the 16th 17th 18th century a veritable explosion of womens' religious orders...and these seem to be recognized as well within the catholic style save for the affects of the founders charism...the reformation as i see it now is the shattering and the echoing of the intentional albeit ignorant fracturing of this enchanted culture...only today to i see that there may be some hope in putting the pieces back together into a kaleidescope of meanings

    my battle with science is more a battle with the present day presumptions of what science can and should do...and this notion that in effect the scientific effort is above moral and ethical scrutiny...and that really aside from some basic medical and sanitation attributes there is not much at all in the scientific world that we could not live without...except for the fact that to curtail the activities of science would be to put a lot of people out of work...yet i insist that there is nothing going on in science that is all that important ( i allow for a huge exception for the biologists and environmentalists who are interested in cleaning up the horrendous mistakes and misjudgements of applied science and technology )

    .

    ReplyDelete
  4. visual and audible mass media...done
    space exploration...done
    microbiological research...done
    biology by and large...done

    i will make an exception for geology
    as long as wisdom is the goal
    and as long as the concept of mother earth
    is inherent in the activity

    chemistry...done
    the human sciences completely and inevitably ...done


    physics...done

    all science should be conducted in gradeschools at the level of playground activity and nothing more


    most of what anyone needs to know about science can be taught in gradeschool and in my view that is where it should stop

    the catholic bent is to posit education as a means toward the freedom of the mind ( it could be argued that the RC world incorporates the understanding of limited this world freedom sometimes harshly )

    what i react to in the world is the lack of wisdom the irony that we have all this information and all these "educated people" and the storehouse of wisdom is seemingly depleted and discarded more and more day after day

    the harvest awaits but is it a harvest of GMO crops
    the harvest is ready but do any seek god

    i look for signs of enchantment
    i find very little in the science world to inspire me toward enchantment
    (althoug i understand bjork is melding science and singing these days)

    the KOYAANISQATSI project projects the world run amok the world out of balance

    and while i do recognize some signs of hope
    i remain pessimistic about the ability of mankind to hold itself up under the principles of humanism and pragmatism and applied reason and bring about anything other than mass choas

    show me the good food garden and i'll be happy to harvest the veggies...at least i will do some weeding ;-}

    keep the fire

    jh

    toward a re-enchanting of the world
    yeah
    that's it

    ReplyDelete
  5. insofar as the academic discipline of science (in general)creates for itself a veritable sanctuary a nearly untouchable inaccessible realm where qualification is based upon ones disposition for the discipline rather than upon inherent intellectual ability insofar as we are subjected to the programatic dispensing of information regarded as useful and worthwhile and indeed necessary yet upon closer scrutiny simply exists in a state of static utility insofar as the intent of science to fully uncover the secrets of nature for its own good and presumably for the good of humanity although we can't always be sure of that and insofar as the tools of science are regarded as anything more important than toys in a child's playroom....we have tyranny

    the community is held at gunpoint

    the computer is a prison

    text books corrupt the mind

    insofar as sublime wonder and festivals are held at bay
    science should be held in contempt

    i think we need to impose intense security measures on all laboratories
    things have gotten out of hand

    ah well
    i think i'll take up smoking cigarettes

    jh

    ReplyDelete
  6. yes
    take up smoking
    as a lenten discipline
    sacrifice your lungs and your heart
    to show your dedication to jesus

    go ahead
    lock up the laboratories
    my laboratory is out in the open air
    some people try to keep me out
    putting up fences
    locked gates
    no trespassing signs

    i find it interesting
    that trespassing
    is not one of the 10 commandments
    private property is recognized
    in the commandment against theft
    but i can't think of any
    commandment against
    walking across someone else's land

    the rocks and the land should be available
    for any geologist to study
    for any person to admire
    no one should be able to own them

    land ownership in the Bible
    seems to be a rather tenuous concept
    one is not allowed to continue amassing
    larger and larger tracts of land indefinitely
    every 50 years it all reverts back

    and one is not allowed to keep others
    from gathering the leftovers of the harvest
    from one's property

    maybe that's what i could have told
    an irritated property owner last week:
    i'm gleaning the information from the rocks
    that others have neglected to gather
    i'm listening to their stories

    the earth belongs to none of us

    ReplyDelete
  7. once i parked near lake up by duluth and skiied out to an island i didn't see any no parking signs but there were some houses across the road
    when i returned i met a lady who informed me she was just about to call the police i stated that i had jsut gone for a ski and didn't mean to trespass well you are trespassing and i moved here to get away from people like you and if you don't leave now.....

    i'm with you on the wolrd being free
    it was a big thing with the metis
    the cause of the resistances had to do with
    land appropriation
    the metis were content to recognize landmarks
    and river access as the domain of ones stewardship
    with free roaming rights for anyone
    the british wanted square plots well surveyed
    with or without water access and fences to go around
    the metis could not get their minds around such a thing
    it seemed well ludicrous worth fighting against

    i don't necessarily want to close the labs
    i want them to be scrutinized

    your approach to mother nature is the good one i think
    i'd go on a field trip with you any old time

    if scientists would do more by way of listening to the earth
    and less by way of picking it apart and opoking it ever more minutely i'd be more amenable to the activity
    but it seems to me they want to just pry and pry and pry
    when they should by rights pray and pray and pray

    i smoked a bit when i was in montana
    for some reason a cigarette tasted very good
    but when i got back here i had no inkling for tobacco
    whatsoever
    maybe the world lures me in with sensual deception
    and when i get back to the monastery i'm intent on
    being perfected...always begrudgingly it seems

    ( o ) ( o )
    . \
    . ~~~~

    ReplyDelete
  8. i'm surprised no one asked the question:

    well

    what about divine science?

    ReplyDelete
  9. jh,

    what about divine science?

    Theology? I think Aquinas's use of "divine science" as a definition of theology relies on an anachronistic interpretation of science as structured knowledge, whereas in this post-Popperian era, it has come to have a narrower definition based on hypothesis, experimentation, and refutation.

    As for science, per se, let me suggest the following as a scriptural warrant legitimizing the study of the natural world:

    Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. (Psalms 111:2–3 NRSV)

    ReplyDelete
  10. i think you're right about aquinas all except the anachronistic thing
    i think aquinas' epistemology holds forth with the understanding that inquiry into the world is inherent
    man is inclined to want to figure things out in much the same way in every age albeit with tools that change

    i argue sometimes obliquely that we should all by rights be naturalists people interested in the world...i would however like to suspend the nomenclature....why does everything have to be named

    reading recently a work
    beginning in jerusalem
    glenn w olson

    he posits that the jesuits were the first
    to really posit the notion that god is in
    all things and in all efforts to know truth
    as a pattern of life

    the idea being that any work with the good in mind
    must be seen as valuable in the eyes of god
    even if to no one else

    ad maiorem Dei gloriam

    when scientists started losing sight of their work
    as related to god
    that's when the ethics started to get a little wierd
    so much of the science world carries with it
    either this benign dismissal of religious convictions
    or an outright scurillous rejection of it
    as hypocricy

    some of this is rooted in the ignorance
    of the history of education

    had not monks painstakingly copied
    ancient and contemporary works of science
    there'd be no development
    so obviously to me there is a vital historical
    connection

    i suppose with the invention of the university
    the benedictines franciscans and dominicans
    created the formal context for philosophical doubt

    you must admit
    that upon close scrutiny there is scientific work
    being done which would not hold up under the microscope of
    good sense or even good humor for that matter

    i believe "mad science" has taken it's place within
    the hallowed halls of objective reason
    it was once a sort of tv comedy role
    the mad scientist
    i think this whole genome thing is mad science

    ultimately sally has the right idea
    it's about field trips
    bring a lunch
    get to know the planet

    colleges should by rights be educating naturalists
    forcing the matter into commercial manipulation schemes
    is another world altogether

    yet the question remains
    why would someone with a scientific bent
    tend to believe they have any worth to a community
    the only thing i can think of
    is to enhance liturgy
    if the astronomer knows that the new moon is going to be up the community could recite that night
    'blow the trumpet at the new moon'
    or even better
    chant it

    is the world we come to understand in scientific language
    a world that holds anything like enchantment

    it would be good in a garden to have someone with a little knowledge about plant life and optimal elements for growth
    different soils etc

    ok
    in every community of note that has lasted
    at least one person is given to looking at the stars
    through scopes

    i do it with the naked eye

    where might quantum physics
    attain to some purpose within a community

    particles or waves?
    what's it going to be

    i can never tell

    off tibet

    jh

    ReplyDelete
  11. jh,

    Just to be clear, I was not saying that Aquinas was anachronistic, only that the phrase "divine science" relies on a definition of science that is no longer current.

    ReplyDelete
  12. i think in catholic conservative circles it is mui courrante
    there's a pretty intense surge of traditional thought going on amongst the young...they like that old stuff aged cheeze stuff good wine EWTN is the station for ardent catholic conservativeness

    sometimes it looks cartoonish to me but
    what do i know

    great banter over on the surreal channel
    championship cyber wrestling at it's finest

    don't give up
    brett swingin on the good side now
    you'll be OK

    political science and live rhetoric
    it's pretty cool

    jh

    ReplyDelete
  13. jh,

    is the charles taylor in question
    a secular age

    ive read just enough
    before bellowing children
    to have the taste for it

    ReplyDelete