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Originally Posted by levite
Fair enough, although I suppose I could say that some wars, and other kinds of conflicts have resulted from arms or technology races....
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Again, an extension of the human will. We wanted our "sticks" to be bigger and badder than their "sticks" because we might go to war to them over some reason.
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But I could also say that a number of scientists I've spoken to do seem to treat rationalism, which generally they equate to science (I think they mean the theory of scientific reasoning and investigation, not methodologies of research and fabrication), much like a religion.
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I am reminded of a discussion somewhere on TFP about Einstein and his use of the word God. Often his meaning was not the god, but the universe itself. Also, it wasn't the universe itself, but the mysteries of the universe.
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I would like to make it clear, I am a fan of science, and a believer in the efficacy of reasoning and investigation. I believe wholeheartedly in evolution, in the Big Bang, I was in the physics club in high school, etc. But the fundamental notion that all things are in some way objectively observable, or that a phenomenon can only be trusted if validated with repeated laboratory experiments which yield identical results, is a worldview. A chosen point of view. As much as any other philosophy, as much as a religion. It is a way in which to interface with the world. And when used responsibly by responsible persons, it is very effective, within the parameters of it's own paradigm. But inevitably, some things will not be effectively covered by that paradigm. And to suppose otherwise is, in its own way, just as fundamentalist as those fanatics who think that Genesis was designed to be a textbook on cosmology, geology, and biology.
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The line between treating science like a religion and actual religion is: science can demonstrate our interaction and/or connection with the universe while no one can demonstrate our interaction and/or connection with god. We may not be accurate in our interpretations and models, however, there is an action-interaction-reaction occurring.
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Now to treat religion with science... that would be unethical. Do you know how many people you'd have to kill and revive in order to get results?