Question

In Brian Appleyard’s book Understanding the Present, he argues that science is socially and morally corrosive. In his view, it ruins the certainties that were in place that social life relied on for the past hundreds of centuries of our human history. It also appears to some observers that many of our current political world dialogues involve the conflict over fundamental beliefs and those represented by scientific modernity. Appleyard argues that the conflict of values seems to be split by those that embrace the success of science –its ability to “control” the world-and the loss of our ancient dependence on the spiritual life. He insists that it is the emotional content of our spiritual side that makes us human. Further he observes that with the advent of modern science, triggered by the Copernicus and Darwin revolutions, we have lost our sense of self and our purpose in life.   As our discussion of the Drake Equation illustrated, cultural influences cannot be ignored as we consider a search for other sentient beings. Respond with a 100 word minimum personal reaction to Brian Appleyard’s conflict between awe and aha.

Answer 1

The book explores the history of science, from the dawn of the Enlightenment up to the present day, arguing that its triumph in almost every sphere of human activity, spectacular though it is, has come at a high price. In spite of its effectiveness — or, indeed, because of it — science has cut the individual adrift from his moorings, depriving him not only of a sense of ultimate meaning and purpose but also from the possibility of ever finding them. For science denies the conviction that value and meaning can be found in the facts of the world and, worse still, defines all truths as provisional, as hypotheses yet to be verified or refuted. As such, science is unable to coexist with alternative explanations and systems of belief. It renders all non-objective truths invalid.