Science Is Not Your Enemy
[T]he worldview that guides the moral and spiritual values of an educated
person today is the worldview given to us by science. Though the
scientific facts do not by themselves dictate values, they certainly hem
in the possibilities. By stripping ecclesiastical authority of its
credibility on factual matters, they cast doubt on its claims to
certitude in matters of morality. The scientific refutation of the
theory of vengeful gods and occult forces undermines practices such as
human sacrifice, witch hunts, faith healing, trial by ordeal, and the
persecution of heretics. The facts of science, by exposing the absence
of purpose in the laws governing the universe, force us to take
responsibility for the welfare of ourselves, our species, and our
planet. For the same reason, they undercut any moral or political system
based on mystical forces, quests, destinies, dialectics, struggles, or
messianic ages. And in combination with a few unexceptionable
convictions— that all of us value our own welfare and that we are social
beings who impinge on each other and can negotiate codes of conduct—the
scientific facts militate toward a defensible morality, namely adhering
to principles that maximize the flourishing of humans and other
sentient beings. This humanism, which is inextricable from a scientific
understanding of the world, is becoming the de facto morality of modern
democracies, international organizations, and liberalizing religions,
and its unfulfilled promises define the moral imperatives we face today.
www.newrepublic.com/article/114127/science-not-enemy-humanities
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