October 21st, 2019

Stormy weekend, here

A long comment, today:  While there are those today who are suspicious of science based on a lack of understanding of what science is and does, there are also those who are suspicious of it when scientists make unsupportable claims about certainty (see Wittgenstein's On Certainty about that.)  Barry Lopez was with a scientific group in Antartica and wrote the following:  "Like most good scientists, John [the group leader] is not entirely convinced of the ultimate authority of the rational mind, and he recognizes the potential for peril in strict cause-and-effect reasoning.  He doesn't like the way much of science, particularly laboratory science, discounts awe and mystery . . .
'I had a theology professor once,' I said to John, 'who told us that religion was not about being certain but about living with uncertainty.  It was about being comfortable with doubt, and maintaining the continuity of one's reverence for a profound mystery.'
'We gain deeper knowledge,' [John" responded. 'But no guarantee that we're any closer to wisdom.'"

I think about this when I am out and about:  I am frequently awed by how clouds form, reform, take on shape, interact, appear and disappear.  While there are scientific descriptions of some of this, they don't (can't) really get to what one sees when one really looks and allows mystery back into the mix.  Science provides (some) knowledge about this, it provides no access to wisdom.  The main point I think is this:  science is not the only way to see, experience and understand the world.