Science, Art, and Religion
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1. What do science, art, and religion have in common? How are they different?
Science, art, and religion can be seen as having in common their existence as examples of humanity’s need to explore, describe, and attempt to explain its place in the world and the universe. Science, reliant on the scientific method, is man’s attempt to discover the world around him and explain why things happen as they do; artistic expression in all of its forms can be viewed as man’s attempts to describe our place in the world and to give substance and form to intangible ideas such as emotion. We can review religion as the vehicle for man’s attempt to transcend the worldly pursuits of both science and art in the research for the divine. The three disciplines differ in that that they can be divided into that which is concerned with data, logic, and experimentation (the world as it is), and at the other end of the spectrum, those disciplines which are rooted in emotion and faith (the world as we might wish it to be.) Opinions may vary as to the value of each of these three. In the 19th century, the journal Science noted, “Arts are impossible without the institutions, languages, opinions, and reasoning; and in like manner every one is developed by aid of the others” (King, 1888). Science, art, and religion may appear to be different from one another, but their great alikeness is that each is one of the cornerstones of man’s attempt to seek the truth.
2. Can a scientific hypothesis be proven right or wrong for any kind of information?
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There are subjects and phenomena that lend themselves more readily to scientific inquiry using the scientific method. A site hosted by the Biology Department at the University of Miami, which discusses scientific experiments, notes that “if something is outside the realm of scientific testability, the wise
1. What do science, art, and religion have in common? How are they different?
Science, art, and religion can be seen as having in common their existence as examples of humanity’s need to explore, describe, and attempt to explain its place in the world and the universe. Science, reliant on the scientific method, is man’s attempt to discover the world around him and explain why things happen as they do; artistic expression in all of its forms can be viewed as man’s attempts to describe our place in the world and to give substance and form to intangible ideas such as emotion. We can review religion as the vehicle for man’s attempt to transcend the worldly pursuits of both science and art in the research for the divine. The three disciplines differ in that that they can be divided into that which is concerned with data, logic, and experimentation (the world as it is), and at the other end of the spectrum, those disciplines which are rooted in emotion and faith (the world as we might wish it to be.) Opinions may vary as to the value of each of these three. In the 19th century, the journal Science noted, “Arts are impossible without the institutions, languages, opinions, and reasoning; and in like manner every one is developed by aid of the others” (King, 1888). Science, art, and religion may appear to be different from one another, but their great alikeness is that each is one of the cornerstones of man’s attempt to seek the truth.
2. Can a scientific hypothesis be proven right or wrong for any kind of information?
2
There are subjects and phenomena that lend themselves more readily to scientific inquiry using the scientific method. A site hosted by the Biology Department at the University of Miami, which discusses scientific experiments, notes that “if something is outside the realm of scientific testability, the wise
References: Bently, B. B. (1991). Human Genome Project. Retrieved Jamuary7 8, 2011, from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/home.shtml. Biology, U. o. (n.d.). Research in Ecology- The scientific Method. Retrieved Jamuary 5, 2011, from http://www.bio.miami.edu/ecosummer/lectures/lec_scientific_method.html. Health, N. I. (2009, April 28). Stem Cell Information Home Page. Retrieved January 7, 2011, from http://stemcells.nih.gov/info/basics/. King, M. (1888). Science Vol XI. American Association for the Advancement of Science . School, L. I. (1973). Roe v. Wade. Retrieved January 6, 2011, from http:www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/historics/USSR_CR_0410_0113_ZS.html.