Science as a Gateway to Understanding International Workshop Proceedings, Tehran, Iran (2008) / Chapter Skim
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6 Understanding Others, the Science Way--Yousef Sobouti
6 Understanding Others, the Science Way--Yousef Sobouti
Pages 37-44
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From page 37... ...
Through observations of the motions of the heavenly bodies, inquisitive men had understood the order prevailing in the skies and were able to predict astronomical events, such as tides, eclipses, conjunction, and opposition with incredible accuracy. Similarly, ancient geometry, born out of everyday practices in land surveying and building construction, also became an axiomatic science at about the same time.
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From page 38... ...
In contrast, the practice of modern science divides complex issues into small components in an effort to understand them stepwise, from the simple to the difficult. A consequence of the ancients' lofty and unachievable goal was the tendency to resort to metaphysical concepts whenever hypotheses fell short of factual evidence.
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From page 39... ...
Throughout history, such tragic episodes have repeated themselves. The pattern is always the same: two factions oppose each other over a vaguely conceived cause, such as a religious belief, a social value, a moral code of conduct, a philosophical doctrine, or a material interest.
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From page 40... ...
was wise enough to deny altogether the motion of the earth in the Court of Inquisition and avoid any unpleasant consequences. In the early twenty-first century, many of the natural, human, and social sciences have achieved acceptable levels of universal clarity, and their practitioners have learned to reconcile differences through sober dialogues.
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From page 41... ...
On the contrary, it is often conflict over material resources and thirst for domination that causes large-scale calamities. Nonetheless, the scientific world of the twenty-first century has managed to create a legal and international infrastructure to condemn, if not prevent, the primitive, brute logic which asserts that the strong can take the possessions of the weak.
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From page 42... ...
After all, long before the formulation of exact sciences, man's inexact creations, such as sports, arts, music, poetry, literature, and commerce brought people together. Here, I only wish to point out that today's science, by all standards, is the most vigorous force behind the development of all societies.
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From page 43... ...
But the method of deriving a scientific fact is not necessarily open to scientific inquiry by itself. The debate in many countries today about the use of stem cells and cloning is a current example, or a more horrific one is the kinds of medical experiments done by the Nazis in World War II.
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