Friday, July 28, 2006
Helping Hands For Science
Is knowledge enough for science or is wisdom also a worthy goal?
Science has provided us with many wonderful things and has made our lives infinitely easier though there is another side or face to science.
It has also created terrible weapons and extreme versions of technology that are harmful. What can rescue science from the pursuit of this sort of knowledge.
I have found that when one of us - simply a human being pursues knowledge for the sake of knowledge we can also make mistakes but as is natural over time one acquires experience and it is in the nature of experience that wisdom is often the eventual outcome.
I believe that science needs to be tempered with wisdom. I believe that it is the knowledge and experience of practical applications that achieves wisdom.
I am not trying to suggest that I have all the answers but rather I am simply saying that wisdom, that which is known; the sum of what has been perceived, discovered, or inferred, is something worth achieving and integrating into the research and application of science.
I know it will not be easy to ignore some products that can pursue the profit motivation but we have to consider the ultimate outcome.
Are we going to allow science to unintentionally achieve its own destruction by causing ours or will we give science a leg up. Allow it to mature into a stage of wisdom which can then be the overseer and encourage science and those who apply it to use wisdom as a benchmark for research, application and eventual products and technology that will only improve the quality of our lives.
And to that end I ask for support for science by all of you who can support it. That it may have good luck and benevolent outcomes that will be achieved by wise and patient and yes - loving support.
Goodlife to you all and goodnight.
Science has provided us with many wonderful things and has made our lives infinitely easier though there is another side or face to science.
It has also created terrible weapons and extreme versions of technology that are harmful. What can rescue science from the pursuit of this sort of knowledge.
I have found that when one of us - simply a human being pursues knowledge for the sake of knowledge we can also make mistakes but as is natural over time one acquires experience and it is in the nature of experience that wisdom is often the eventual outcome.
I believe that science needs to be tempered with wisdom. I believe that it is the knowledge and experience of practical applications that achieves wisdom.
I am not trying to suggest that I have all the answers but rather I am simply saying that wisdom, that which is known; the sum of what has been perceived, discovered, or inferred, is something worth achieving and integrating into the research and application of science.
I know it will not be easy to ignore some products that can pursue the profit motivation but we have to consider the ultimate outcome.
Are we going to allow science to unintentionally achieve its own destruction by causing ours or will we give science a leg up. Allow it to mature into a stage of wisdom which can then be the overseer and encourage science and those who apply it to use wisdom as a benchmark for research, application and eventual products and technology that will only improve the quality of our lives.
And to that end I ask for support for science by all of you who can support it. That it may have good luck and benevolent outcomes that will be achieved by wise and patient and yes - loving support.
Goodlife to you all and goodnight.
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2 comments:
Hi Robert,
I enjoyed this post as it is very thought provoking. As you say, it is not science that is our problem, but so often the effective applicaton of wisdom to our use of science. And even this, as we see in stem cell research can be ambiguous; sometimes meaningful and helpful to one entity and yet feared by some for meaningful reasons.
Your prayer for science is appropriate altogether I think, and maybe we should say one as well for wisdom.
Seven, thank you for your comment. It is well thought out as always and yes - I agree with you, a prayer for wisdom and our ability to acquire it benevolently is called for.
I would recommend, "I am asking that all of us here on Earth be able to acquire wisdom in the most benevolent way and in a way that enables us to help each other While we function in our lives helping ourselves as much as possible."
Goodlife my friend.
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