Sunday, August 07, 2005
Science, magic, superstition and finding answers:
The natural human desire to find explanations underlies both science and magic. People like or need to find reasons for what is going on. Anthropologist found that tribes will use evidence and facts when they have them. They are very material and practical. They also have magical solutions to everyday problems when there are no better alternatives. Questions of weather, animal migration, disease and other natural phenomena are natters of life and death, so people want some control over these events. Magic gives them that sense of doing something and having an input into the process of lifer and death. All religions are based on faith and magic where performing certain ceremonies have powers of healing, rain making, even eternal salivation and the triumph over death. Gods and saints can give hope to the hopeless and direction, rules, order to civilizations. The claims are magical and hysterical calls to worship or patriotic emotions that underpin civic order. A spiritual and traditional sense of purpose, direction, order and meaning are required by humans to organize their societies.
Everyday the news reports give explaining reasons why the “market” has gone up or down. They sound like the market has purpose and intention. In fact no one knows why markets have day to day variations beyond there are more buyers or more sellers at a moment of time. Thousands of individuals and computer programs make thousands of individual choices partly based on what all the other actors are doing and making assumptions about the reasons behind these decisions. Except when there are great events most of the time there is a random element that defies explanation. Never the less some magical words are used to explain the unexplainable.
The desire to find purpose and intention in evolution and human existence is quite natural and also impossible. Disposing with the idea of an external, perhaps even supernatural, vitalizing force, describes how we have arrived at the picture of ourselves and all organisms as Self-Made Things. Our creations include governments, constitutions, institutions, magic, superstitions, ceremony, ritual, flag waving, songs, etc. Our gods are made by us not the other way around. They are made because we need them. They should not (but often do) become a Frankenstein.
So we have to take things for what they are. Social conventions, religious ceremony, national character, are useful and even necessary. They are NOT science or material facts. There are very important ideas and beliefs beyond or outside science – arts and literature, song and dance, mystery and magic, wonder and dreams – Santa Claus and the tooth fairy the lands of wonder and magic – the problem arises when belief systems make material judgments (stem cell research) outside their competence. Science can be arrogant about people’s useful and practical beliefs. (Alternative medicine). Science must support the moral and useful desire to do good works, spread truth and justice, equality and fairness which have no material meaning (you can’t find the stuff of kindness and measure it) or do these beliefs have a scientific basis.
The natural human desire to find explanations underlies both science and magic. People like or need to find reasons for what is going on. Anthropologist found that tribes will use evidence and facts when they have them. They are very material and practical. They also have magical solutions to everyday problems when there are no better alternatives. Questions of weather, animal migration, disease and other natural phenomena are natters of life and death, so people want some control over these events. Magic gives them that sense of doing something and having an input into the process of lifer and death. All religions are based on faith and magic where performing certain ceremonies have powers of healing, rain making, even eternal salivation and the triumph over death. Gods and saints can give hope to the hopeless and direction, rules, order to civilizations. The claims are magical and hysterical calls to worship or patriotic emotions that underpin civic order. A spiritual and traditional sense of purpose, direction, order and meaning are required by humans to organize their societies.
Everyday the news reports give explaining reasons why the “market” has gone up or down. They sound like the market has purpose and intention. In fact no one knows why markets have day to day variations beyond there are more buyers or more sellers at a moment of time. Thousands of individuals and computer programs make thousands of individual choices partly based on what all the other actors are doing and making assumptions about the reasons behind these decisions. Except when there are great events most of the time there is a random element that defies explanation. Never the less some magical words are used to explain the unexplainable.
The desire to find purpose and intention in evolution and human existence is quite natural and also impossible. Disposing with the idea of an external, perhaps even supernatural, vitalizing force, describes how we have arrived at the picture of ourselves and all organisms as Self-Made Things. Our creations include governments, constitutions, institutions, magic, superstitions, ceremony, ritual, flag waving, songs, etc. Our gods are made by us not the other way around. They are made because we need them. They should not (but often do) become a Frankenstein.
So we have to take things for what they are. Social conventions, religious ceremony, national character, are useful and even necessary. They are NOT science or material facts. There are very important ideas and beliefs beyond or outside science – arts and literature, song and dance, mystery and magic, wonder and dreams – Santa Claus and the tooth fairy the lands of wonder and magic – the problem arises when belief systems make material judgments (stem cell research) outside their competence. Science can be arrogant about people’s useful and practical beliefs. (Alternative medicine). Science must support the moral and useful desire to do good works, spread truth and justice, equality and fairness which have no material meaning (you can’t find the stuff of kindness and measure it) or do these beliefs have a scientific basis.
