5. “Science, In the service of Man” : Essay

 

 5.  “Science, In the service of Man”

 

 

1.      Introduction

2.      Awful miseries and ignorance in ancient times

3.      Helps to understand nature and its effects

4.      Discovery of electricity and the media

5.      Reasoning, inquiring and questioning

6.      Order, efficiency, and reason

7.      Mixed blessings for the human race

8.      Complications and vices of science

9.      Science is only a tool

10.  Conclusion

 

“The whole of science is nothing more than a refinement of everyday thinking.

(“Albert Einstein, “The Evolution of Physics)

 

The phenomenal advancement of science and its wider implications in all walks of man’s life have brought human civilization to amazing heights. The awful miseries and ignorance of the hellish past have been virtually eliminated by the miraculous inventions and discoveries. Science has opened and enlarged new frontiers of human knowledge, information, achievements, and comforts.

Men love to wonder and that is the seed of science.              

(Emerson – Society, and Solitude)

This passage from ignorance to knowledge, from darkness to light, from superstitions to scientific logic. If our ancestors were to visit today's world, they would not be able to recognize it due to the marvels of science.

In days before science, people were condemned to live totally different lives. They were at the mercy of the elements of nature. Earth, air, fire water was worshipped as gods because they ruled man's life, most powerfully. He was utterly helpless whenever floods came or tempests set in. Briefly, the man was absolutely powerless to govern nature. Science has admirably helped to bring him mastery over land, sea, and air. Even the vast expanse of space and extreme depths of the seas are no more mysteries for human beings. Easy and quick sources of communication have shortened time and space to an unbelievable extent, and the world today is a much closer unit than ever in the past.

“Science is always simple and profound. It is only the half-truths that are dangerous.”            

                         (George Bernard Shaw)

In the fields of medicine and surgery, science does claim splendid triumphs. The discovery of penicillin and the method of vaccination are wondrous deeds of medical science. Even the most difficult surgical operation is performed with a lot of ease and safety. People are no longer ravaged by deadly epidemics like smallpox, cholera, and plague. Countless new life-saving drugs have been discovered to relieve humanity.

“Happy is he who has been able to learn the causes of things.”                   

  (Virgil)

Another great job that this great servant does for us is to educate. Science has built great printing presses; the discovery of electricity has worked wonders in all walks of human life. The news is brought to us from every corner of the world through various mediums. The means of communication have also made dramatic progress due to science. The telephone, the wireless, the telegraph, the postal system, the fax machine, and the Internet have made it fairly easy and quick to communicate with friends, relatives and colleagues living or working abroad.

The habits of reasoning, inquiring and questioning are the great gifts of science. We do this when we control our passions, prejudices, and sentiments. So, the world of science is literally a world of order, efficiency and reason that increases our power over nature.

“What is now proved was once only imagined.”

(William Blake)

Despite all the inventions and discoveries, science could never prove itself to be an unmixed blessing for the human race. Science has also brought about certain complications and problems.

Firstly, man is exposed to new temptations and thrown into confusion due to amazing and unexpected discoveries and inventions of science. He is not in a position to determine the goal of his life with grim finality. Secondly, modern technology has virtually impaired craftsmanship and thousands of skilled persons been condemned to work in the factories and mills as ordinary laborers. Thirdly, science develops our heads and brains, but weaken our hearts and souls. Such things as kindness, love, devotion, worship and spiritual prospects do not flourish anymore. Fourthly, science has made modern man's outlook grossly materialistic. Lastly, we are terribly afraid of atomic wars. There have been more destructive wars since the dawn of modern science than ever before. The entire human race has thus been brought on the verge of massive destruction due to the achievements of science.

So, we can sum up with the words that science is only a tool. The harm or good it does depend on how men use it. So, we must develop our moral, social and political sciences along with our physical and biological science. We should maintain our interest in the finer things of life such as art, literature, and philosophy. We should not be entirely dependent on science, for science can only add years to our lives, but it is up to us to add life to these years.

“Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind.”

(Albert Einstein)