Science and Belief
At the moment, the only thing that I really believe in is essentially that of the scientific method. Explanations must fit reality. If reality disagrees with what you expected to happen, then you must improve your explanation. I believe this in the sense that I hold it to be self-evident.
Reality is Everything
I truly don’t understand any point of view that wishes to ignore reality, and rejects the most likely explanations for things. I try to accept that people can believe different things, but like everyone else, I reach a limit. That’s not to say that I don’t accept such people for who they are, simply that I don’t *get* them.
To me, reality is everything, and the simplest (not necessarily the easiest) explanation wins every time.
The Simplest Explanation
What is the simplest explanation?
Now this is an interesting question. Broadly speaking, I find the simplest explanations to be the scientifically accepted ones. They are generally open to repeatable experiments and don’t rely on the supernatural - things which in my book, are good.
Someone else may disagree with my chosen explanation, especially when there isn’t a conclusive scientifically accepted one, and that’s just fine. Other people may be happy with explanations that rely on the supernatural. I disagree that they are the simplest - an explanation that requires belief, doesn’t seem to me to be much of an explanation. But, if they fit reality, and are pretty simple, then they’re ok.
Belief
There are a lot of people who think as I do. They hold the need for explanations to agree with reality as self-evident and the scientific method as the best way of determining the simplest possible explanation. Does this constitute belief?
I don’t know that it does in the usual meaning of the word belief, any more than holding as a self-evident truth the statement “all men are equal” and acting upon it.
I can be offended when people say that science is a belief. It tends to imply that there are many equally useful alternatives, and that it is somewhat irrational - both things that I disagree with. Science is more of a way of looking at the world than a belief system. In terms of creating useful things, it is unequalled. It is strictly rational in its use and application, although as a human, anyone that uses science is likely to be irrational at times.
What do you think? Is the scientific point of view something you agree with? Do you think it is a belief system?
Popularity: 17% [?]
