RE: The Slacker's Guide to the Great Remission: The Purpose of Life
You are right. Science is merely a technique. Science is reductionist, a way to carve the material world up into smaller and smaller pieces. Science only deals with the knowable.
There is a realm that is unknowable just as an eye cannot see itself or a knife cut itself, there is a per-condition that exists prior to reality out of which the "created" world flows. Science cannot touch that and as such denies that it exists.
The problem is that when belief in deity dies it leaves an empty space in people's minds, hearts and emotions. Science is a poor substitute for that and yet it occupies that spot in the head of most secular people. Ultimately, science does not reveal any truths that matter. It only becomes a tool of manipulating the material world. And since we are material beings, including our minds, ultimately we are manipulated by those who feel the need to manipulate.
Science also claims "knowledge" where none exists. Natives knew that willow bark eased pain. They believed that there was a spirit in the willow tree that did that. Science discovered salicylic acid, a chemical compound. Scientists now "know" that salicylic acid works on the prostaglandin pathway, not only blocking pain but thinning blood and diminishing mucus in the stomach which is why it causes ulcers if overused.
This is valuable information, to be sure, but is it really better than saying that willow has a spirit? I contend that this very scientific attitude is what separates us from the biosphere out of which we arise and upon which we all depend. It leads us to feel that everything is dead and ripe for exploitation and why we are destroying the planet at an ever increasing rate. It's also why we think technology will save us when technology is the very problem.
Did you know that 16,000 people die from adverse reactions from acetylsalicylic acid, the enhanced version of willow bark extract, every year? Not something widely promoted on the aspirin bottle, is it?
I did not. I did quit taking it when it blew my blood pressure up, though. No drug is without side effects, and everyone is unique.
You might look at it like different folks get along with different spirits, though.
You know me by now. People are free to believe whatever they believe as long as they don't impinge upon my beliefs. Whatever floats you boat.
When I was a kid, whenever anyone asked me that stupid question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" I'd say, "A scientist." That lasted until they told me I had to learn math. What ended that desire entirely was the "scientific method." What drudgery! I'm about as meticulous as a mudslide.
Later I decided what I really wanted to be was a Naturalist.
Not long after that, my answer to that above question was always "A kid again." ;)
LOL How true!
I am pretty damn meticulous =p It's what makes me a good finish carpenter.
That's one reason I built a log cabin. For rough work I use a 7/32, skip-tooth chain on my Stihl 039. For finish work I switch to a 5/32 narrow kerf, full ride chain on a Stihl 190. If I can't do the work with that, it's too finicky. Got to admit, my crown molding won't win any prizes at the county fair.
As for interior work, drywall is about as fussy as I get. Thank god for mud!