The Values and Contributions of Science to Society
One of the greatest minds of the past century, Richard Feynman embodied what it meant to be curious. His curiosity, combined with his insatiable appetite for answers led him to win the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1965, among many other achievements. Although known widely as a brilliant scientist, he was also a great communicator, and advocator of science.
In a talk that he gave, “The Value of Science”, he mentions three main values that science has to humans. The first two are the obvious ones: science is useful in the technologies that it gives us, and in the enjoyment and inspiration that we get as we explore the mysteries of the universe.
The third value that he mentions is much more subtle, in that science always deals with ignorance, doubt, and uncertainty.This experience is of great importance to humans. He goes on to say:
“Now, we scientists… take it for granted that it is perfectly consistent to be unsure, that it is possible to live and not know. But I don’t know whether everyone realizes this is true. Our freedom to doubt was born out of a struggle against authority in the early days of science. It was a very deep and strong struggle: permitting us to question – to doubt – to not be sure. I think that it is important that we do not forget this struggle and thus perhaps lose what we have gained. Herein lies a responsibility to society.
This is a very deep and profound value that science has for us that many do not realize, and is not taught directly to us in school. It is something that we take for granted, as not too long ago in human history you would have been prosecuted for believing the Earth was not at the center of the Universe.
Of course, there are some negative consequences to science. This was something Feynman experienced firsthand during and after his time working on the Manhattan Project.
Although it is true that science can lead to evil, here is what Feynman has to say about it all:
“Once in Hawaii, I was taken to see a Buddhist temple. In the temple, a man said, ‘I am going to tell you something that you will never forget. To every man is given the key to Heaven. The same key opens the gates of Hell. And so it is with science’… scientific knowledge is an enabling power to do either good or bad - but it does not carry instructions on how to use it”
What he meant by that was that science by itself does not differentiate between “good”, and “evil” discoveries. Instead, it is how these discoveries are used afterwards, and the intent behind it all, that defines what becomes of such discoveries (but even then, it is not the discovery itself that is “good” or “bad”).
Scientists should therefore not have the duty to censor any kind of discoveries that they make for fear of it being wrongly used. Scientists should be free to discover whatever comes their way (as long as the research is done in an ethical manner, and their intent for research is not evil). What becomes of that research is a separate issue that has to be dealt differently.
In the end, science is neither good or bad, but the value that it adds to society is immense, and arguably a defining factor of being human.
Written on June 7th, 2016 by Paul Le