Why I Love Science

Science is a wonderful thing! It took me a long time to realize that. I spent the first half of my life in the theological circle. Moving to the edges of that circle, I began to explore the broader philosophical circle. And around the age of of 40 I began to embrace the even broader scientific circle. And I am so glad I did. My first scientific fields of embrace were the social sciences of sociology, psychology, political science, history and cultural anthropology . But I later moved to the natural sciences, ie psychoanalysis ( some disagree it is a natural science but I am of the camp that believes it is), neuroscience , biology, biological anthropology, paleoanthropology, earth science and astronomy. (Physics is on my list for future study but so far I find it the most difficult to understand!)

I have learned so much about human nature, including my own, and the nature of the universe from these sciences. And the good news is that what I have I learned is based in evidence. That is what I like the most about science as a source of truth. It is not based in myth, magic, the supernatural or revelation. It is based in fact. And if something cannot be proven through the scientific method then it is not yet a fact. It remains theory--often a very good theory but still a theory. This does not mean that many good scientific theories are wrong. They just have not yet been completely proven. The theory of evolution is one of those theories that for all practcal purposes is a fact. It is such a well established scientific theory, shown to be true time and time again, that it is hard to imagine it could ever be proven faulty. But the beauty of science is that possibility always exists.

What I also love about science is that unlike religion, it is not a fixed set of beliefs that are accepted as immutable Truth. Science, even more than philosophy, which is based in reason and logic, is based in observation, experiment and empirical data. And as such its findings are trustworthy because they are based in evidence.

The other beauty of science is it is always open to change and alteration. If a better scientific theory comes along and can be shown to be superior to an established one, the new theory wins. Moving from the flat earth theory to the round earth theory was one example of just such a scientific shift. Christopher Columbus experimented with the theory that the earth was round rather than flat. And by golly, by getting in a boat and sailing to what he thought was India (actually the Americas), he proved his theory correct! No one today doubts the earth is round. It went from being a scientific theory to a scientific fact.

To me, this makes science the best source we have for discovering truth. That is because in science " facts reign supreme" ( Brenner). And the scientific method is the best tool we have to establish what the facts truly are.

I could go on about why I truly love science, but I think my point has been made. I will simply conclude by saying, I am so glad I moved through the theological circle to the philosophical circle, and then at midlife, fully embraced the scientific circle . It has been a continuous source of trustworthy knowledge for me for the last 30 years. And I look forward to what truth based in fact it will teach me in the future.