KA24DERT
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Posted - 2014.02.08 06:13:00 -
[1] - Quote
Science is the exploration of the natural world via what we can observe. It focuses on the HOW of things.
Religion is a declaration of the meaning of things via what we feel. It focuses on the WHY of things.
In terms of knowledge of the universe, religion will always cede to science up until the point where the only claim religion can make is "There is a higher power, but we have no proof, and we don't need any"
Which is a fine state of things really, call them delusional or whatever, but they're not actively harming anyone.
Now there are cases where religion can be harmful(aside from physical/emotional trauma from people exploiting their power, and religions whose sole purpose are to take over the world by any means), and evangelical creationists are a fine example of that: Where the knowledge that we gain by observation of the natural world is simply dismissed because of what a certain translation of their particular religious text says. That's a dangerous thing, because it forbids certain lines of valid thought and literally makes you put blinders on to anything else. That amount of dogma becoming increasingly rare, so it's almost a non factor in how harmful religions can be.
On the flip side, science is lacking in factoring things like empathy and happiness into how we should live our lives. Eventually the sciences of psychology and sociology will catch up, but the human mind has these built in emotions that help our societies thrive, and it's hard to quantify for now.
So it's a mix, you can't live your life entirely via equation(listen to your heart), and you shouldn't blindly believe in anything that your eyes contradict(look at the world around you)
Though I feel you don't really need an organized dogmatic religion to teach the basic virtues of empathy.
But, let's get down to it, OP didn't give us multiple choice.
If I had to pick one to follow, I'd pick science, specifically the scientific method, and the reason for this is simple(though it's not my original thought):
If all of human knowledge got wiped out today, in four thousand years we'd have a whole NEW set of gods, a whole NEW set of holy texts, and a whole NEW set of holy men.
But in those same four thousand years, we'd re-discover the SAME speed of light, the SAME DNA, the SAME orbital mechanics, the SAME chemical reactions, the SAME vastness of space... because while the ideas of man might be always changing, the universe will always be there to discover and explore.
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