The roots of science
Maybe it shouldn't but it surprises me sometimes how scientists are seen by the world at large. There are a few Hollywood archetypes, the mad scientist with a scheme to take over the world, the nerd bent on revenge for percieved slights, the antiseptic vulcan. And of course people project their own ideas onto the unknown, like, 'What are those physicists/chemists/agroengineers up to? Can't be good. Must be a plan to take over the world.' Scientists take an interest in understanding how things work. Things like gravitation or a chemical reaction rate or the effect of caffeine on your neurons work the same whether you live in a red state or a blue state. One of the origins of science is natural philosophy, the idea that we can know God by studying His creation. This has been a tremendously rewarding enterprise, and it has been found again and again that creation is a rational place, guided by laws that can be written down and understood. For me at least, it adds to the beauty. A good way to get a scientists attention is to tell them that something doesn't make sense.
posted by Matt_J @ 1:03 PM
3 Comments:
I've only read a tiny amount of Thomas Aquinus. What do you recommend?
Wow, thanks a lot F., you get the award for the most beautiful thought of the day.
I have been using my few precious moments of spare time to try to find out more about Saint Thomas Aquinas. Here's what Encyclopaedia Britannica has to say:
New generations of men and women, including clerics, were reacting against the traditional notion of contempt for the world and were striving for mastery over the forces of nature through the use of their reason.
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