I was raised with science. It is in my blood like iron and carbon. It is woven into my DNA and the synapses of my brain. I was born with science. Before I was old enough to be in a classroom my father was teaching me kinematics with falling pennies, optics with reading glasses and combustion with the campfire. I breathed science with electrical circuits and Legos. I was not taught religion, I was taught that reason and empathy were the orders of the day, and kindness was the best kind of logic in the world. I grew up and became a humanist. I took all my childhood training, science, ethics, and happiness and went into the world. I realized that humanism with the short term for what I had been taught in the backyard of my childhood. I am studying to be a celebrant (a humanist minister) because of my past. I am here today because of my past. I see the hurt that false things do. And those around me stand as a testament to the fact that you don’t need those beliefs to live a happy life. Humanity is not deadened by the loss of illogic. It is brightened, strengthened, made more beautiful. Perhaps I am delusional, but I believe I can make this world better by asking each person to look at their beliefs and why exactly they need them. I do not expect them to come to the conclusion as me, but I do intend to keep asking the questions. I believe we can be better than we are today. Perhaps that’s the humanist in me.
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One of the claims that I hear leveled at scientists and science-minded people most often is that of scientism. Now, most people don’t use that word. Fair enough. Scientism can be one of two things, one is a legitimate belief, and the other is not. The first is that science is the best and most powerful way to discover things about the world. I agree with this wholeheartedly. Science is a very powerful tool to understand the wonder of the universe and I think the best thing that we have to do so. However, on the other side of the coin is the elitist notion that science is the most important thing and that scientists are above others (so we don’t have to explain things to non-experts or even care about them). This is very false, and damaging to everyone, expert and non-expert alike. It is easy, locked up in a lab with your knowledge and expertise and research, to forget how important the average person is. Even if you are not a scientist, but a scientific person, it is simple to devalue the other person through knowledge that the other person does not happen to possess. This elitism means that we can look down on people who are suffering for not being as knowledgeable as us. Nowhere is this more prevalent or problematic than when Americans look at other countries. It is simple to write off those in other parts of the world who do not have access to the same scientific knowledge as us, or to write off cultures who do not place the same importance on scientific discovery. We must be watchful to remember that intellectual or not, learned or not, people are people and we must help them. Not just educate them. Help them. Compassion rather than condescension must be the order of the day. Science must be used to help everyone on this planet, not be used as a tool to create an in-group and an out-group. This is our duty, as scientific citizens and as people. |
AuthorI am a student at the University of New Mexico working on a B.S. in Chemistry and a B.A. in Professional Writing. I am fascinated by why people believe weird things and how that impacts broader society. ArchivesCategories
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