‎“‏Science‭” ‬Should Not Be Taken on Faith

William Collen
Omaha area writer


In a recent editorial published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution‭ (“‬U.S.‭ ‬moves ahead only if science does‭”‬,‭ ‬January‭ ‬25,‭ ‬2009‭) ‬the author,‭ ‬Cynthia Tucker,‭ ‬bemoans American’s supposed‭ “‬contempt for science‭”‬.‭ ‬She cites the supposedly alarming statistic that only‭ ‬40‭ ‬percent of Americans accept Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution,‭ ‬a percentage she claims is‭ “‬just ahead of Turkey‭”‬.‭ ‬She condemns George W.‭ ‬Bush’s‭ “‬narrow-mindedness‭” ‬towards the subject of embryonic stem-cell research,‭ ‬which‭ “‬impeded scientific efforts‭” ‬to cure such diseases as juvenile diabetes.‭ ‬And of course,‭ ‬she lauds President Barack Obama’s intent to‭ “‬restore science to its rightful place‭”‬.‭ ‬She says:‭ “‬Among other changes,‭ ‬Obama is expected to reverse Bush’s stance on expanding stem-cell research.‭ ‬Like so much else about this new beginning,‭ ‬Obama’s embrace of science is a cause for hope.‭”

It seems as though Ms.‭ ‬Tucker considers science as an end in its own right,‭ ‬while deriding faith as‭ “‬antediluvian religious dogma‭”‬,‭ ‬and implying that people of faith are‭ “‬flat-earthers‭” ‬who don’t believe in‭ “‬facts,‭ ‬data,‭ ‬evidence‭”‬.‭ ‬But isn’t even the scientific method based on faith‭? ‬How could any scientific inquiry take place if a rational,‭ ‬logical,‭ ‬orderly universe were not presupposed‭? ‬In fact,‭ ‬since everything anyone believes is filtered through their presuppositions,‭ ‬how can we believe anything without faith in some assumed,‭ ‬implicit standard by which all input is judged‭?

A blind respect for science as an end unto itself is just as damaging as a rejection of the logical,‭ ‬rational approach to understanding that the scientific method represents.‭ ‬Far from being a‭ “‬rejection of reason that rivals the dark ages‭”‬,‭ ‬as Ms.‭ ‬Tucker claims,‭ ‬the current faith-based stand of so many Americans is an acknowledgement of the fact that as finite,‭ ‬fallible creatures,‭ ‬humans cannot know anything without taking some things on faith.‭ ‬Ms.‭ ‬Tucker’s adulation of‭ “‬science‭” ‬is laughable.‭ ‬But the American public’s rejection of embryonic stem-cell research‭ (‬a principled call to a higher standard‭) ‬and opposition of evolutionary theory‭ (‬a demand for readily verifiable proof instead of conjecture and guesswork‭) ‬is not.