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 Mason's
Meditations
If
you're looking for something to chew over, some thoughtful seeds
for mental cultivation, bookmark this page for Jeff Mason's monthly
meditations. To think in or take away...
Number
Twenty-Six: The Most Dangerous Game
Which
is more dangerous for human beings, science or religion? Science
gives us the means to kill each other and ourselves, while religion
historically supplies a ready reason for killing. In a blunt overview,
we can contrast science and religions in the following way: Science
is rational, consensual and observational. Religions are irrational
containing superstitions and everything, indeed, that is a matter
of faith. Science is about gaining knowledge about the universe
by public means. Religions are about beliefs that are held, out
of internal conviction alone, to be revealed Truth. There can be
only one science, with many branches, but there are many religions,
whose superstitions, alone, distinguish them. A superstition is
simply any belief for which there is no empirical evidence and to
which people pledge allegiance. It is a choice to believe a superstition,
but knowledge is not a matter of personal choice. I do not choose
the speed of light, or the dispositions of the stars, the force
of gravity or the way the human body ages.
The
trouble with science is that it has no soul. The scientific observer
is without personality, and without any interest or concern but
to observe the results of carefully designed experiments and to
state increasingly powerful theories. There is nothing moral about
science, nothing spiritual. Its point of view is that of the third
person, singular and plural, so it is always viewing things from
the outside. On the plus side, science is open to evolution, because
our knowledge is never closed or complete. Science is critical and
asks the hard questions, but it does not prejudge the issues.
The
trouble with religion is that it has too much soul. The extremely
religious person is all devotion, and without any interest or concern
but to open up a connection to the infinite. Unfortunately, since
it is only on the basis of superstitions that religions can distinguish
each other, they tend to become dogmatic. Dogmatism is the enemy
of open thinking, and the refuge of intellectual laziness. An amazing
thing about the human mind is its ability to think about things
in some detail that cannot possibly be known by ordinary means.
Science
and religion are both undeniably dangerous. So which is more dangerous?
In my view, religion is the most dangerous game. Science and technology
may kill us, but religion can make us zombies. Without an open mind
and a questioning spirit, the human being is as good as dead already,
and the next life can only ever be a matter of hearsay.
.
Mason's
Meditations will next be updated early November 2002
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