Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science?

Yes but you can't just let religion off with an "everyone does it" argument. Religion has been, by far and away, the largest road block to the progress of science over the centuries.

 

Let them off? I would never do such a thing... But remember that "The Church" was in the four front back in the day for scientific research. In fact, many of the great scientists back then actually developed methods and theories we still use today. So as much as I blame them for their agenda, we can also praise them for their accomplishments.

Right now, we have many agendas from political ideology. More so than any religion currently.

 

Back in which day? This one http://www.medievalists.net/2014/07/30/burn-books-middle-ages/?

I think I can take it a step further and blame greed and power more than specifically religion. Religion and politics and control of knowledge have just been instruments used by corrupt people to further their own gains.

 

Nicholas Copernicus - Polish astronomer who put forward the first mathematically based system of planets going around the sun.

Sir Francis Bacon - a philosopher who is known for establishing the scientific method of inquiry based on experimentation and inductive reasoning.

Johannes Kepler - early work on light, and established the laws of planetary motion about the sun.

Galileo Galilei - most useful theoretical work, which was on dynamics.

Rene Descartes - generally regarded as the key figures in the development of scientific methodology.

Blaise Pascal - French mathematician, physicist, inventor, writer and theologian. In mathematics, he published a treatise on the subject of projective geometry and established the foundation for probability theory.

Isaac Newton - Optics, Mathematics, and mechanics

I could go on, like the theists that presented the theory of the Big Bang, Planck time, and relativity.

I absolutely agree that, "GREED" is the true disrupter of science. I just hate those that try and say, "Theism doesn't support science". It's 100% false and those that try and claim it are only fooling themselves or have an agenda to discredit theism.

 

I think your confusing "some people who were religious who had some good ideas", with "religion being a driving force behind scientific advancement."

 

Good ideas? LMAO, their ideas are stilling used today! Why are you trying to "downplay" theists and their accomplishments in science? What is YOUR AGENDA? These great men were pioneers in science and most were supported and funded by the Church. Muslims are another faith that brought many great pioneers in science.

 

ok excuse me, amazing ideas. I think you missed my point. You are giving the church to much credit and the men to little.

 

I think that's the entire point I am trying to make here. Many against theism will try and blanket an entire group for the negatives, then claim it's the individual that discovered the pro science. You can be exhibit "A" as an example. Oddly, I'm sure you will claim non theists groups can be credited towards achievements in science and not the individuals.

 

I spent over a decade trying to make sense out of several sensitive environmental/economic issues. I spent countless long days researching both sides of the issues. What the issues where is not important because what I found out applies to all issues and all special interest groups.

If you want to know the truth behind an issue, follow the money not the science, on both sides of the issue. The special interest group that has the most followers and believers is the side with the most money to spend, regardless of the science. Denny’s comment “The problem isn't science, it's people twisting it for a purpose” is spot on. The more money they have, the more they can twist the science to fit their agenda.

The problem is, everyone has an agenda, not just the special interest groups involved.

The politicians have agendas and often make funding decisions based on the impact of winning more votes, not the impact it will have on the issue.

The media has agendas and uses their influence to push the personal agendas of the owners.

The end result is what is now being done to our environment/economy often does more harm than good. The best options are seldom funded.

There is a very simple reason the environment/economy is getting worse after the special interest groups have spent billions of $$$$ the last few decades. Special interest groups only focus on one specific issue with their feel good campaigns. None of the special interest groups take into account how their actions will affect other issues on each side of their focus issue. None of the special interest groups have a goal of balancing an issue. All of them have created a greater imbalance to issues. They refuse to acknowledge their actions have caused harmfully affects.


There is much more to the battle for the environment/economy than what I have posted here. Following the money has revealed a very dark secret about where the seed money to start many of the special interest groups has come from. The truth is stranger than a James Bond movie where a very wealthy wacky person uses their limitless amount money to control the world. A couple of people that control many billions of $$$ are using the earnings from their foundations to push their own agendas. Since they can not spend the foundations assets, only the earnings, the funding for their own agendas is endless, and amount to hundreds of millions of dollars every year.



I have tried to keep the topic general and not point out any specific special interest group, politician or foundation. I encourage each of you to follow the money, and decide for yourself what is really going on, and who you should support. As for myself, sadly after much long research, have given up on just about everyone involved, everyone has an agenda and misuses science.

 

/thread

Couldn't have said it better myself. Excellent post!

 

you should double check your list by the way. A quick search has Galileo and Copernicus as heretics, with Galileo actually being tried by the inquisition. Kepler was shunned by the church and forced to move to avoid persecution. Descartes suppressed scientific information for fear of catholic wrath after Galileo's arrest.

 

Both were funded by the Church. Both have openly admitted being theists.

 

We are having two different conversations then. Intelligence is not limited to any specific religious or non religious person or limited to any religion.

 

Okay, then I must have missed the boat here. It happens... I am merely trying to explain that all organizations or ideology has been guilty of forcing Agendas with Science.

 

I stand corrected...

 

Why Do Many Reasonable People Doubt Science?

Because science can and has been created to support an agenda.

Let’s follow the money theme again. A certain foundation has donated millions of $$$ to universities as grants, including universities in OR & WA. However, the grants had strings attached.

Example: The foundation says a grant is available for $150,000 to find the best way to “protect” a specific environmental/economic concern. Note the grant said to “protect”, not “to improve” or “to balance”.

I have learned to hate the word “protect” when used to study an environmental/economic issue. Protecting something is a code word for stopping the use of. If the university says to the grant funder, the best option is not to protect something, the best option is to improve something and this is how to do it, or the best option is educate people in the use of, the school loses the funding.

The foundation has benefited two ways from funding “protect” university studies that creates science.

First, a university science study is created which the foundation can give to special interest groups it supports. However, the public often does not know who funded the study, and the strings attached to that money that controls the limits of the study, and the limits of the results of the science.

Second, we now have students that were involved in the grant entire jobs where they have an influence over others. Some become teachers. Instead of teaching how to improve things, they now teach our kids what they learned to teach from the study, which is how to protect, or stop the use of something. That is what many kids in the PNW are now learning and why, which often is not the best option.

A person that controls a very rich foundation has funded university studies to create the science that supports their own agenda, which was to stop some activity. If the money had been used to “improve” the activity, the ecosystem/economy would have improved, not declined.

Created faulty university science is a reality and taught in your schools today.

 

I don't know what the church is. So it is damn hard to imagine what evil it is doing.

 

Just finished re-reading Wells' 'Time Machine' the other week. The dude might have really been on to something.

 

If ever there were a time traveler, it'd be H.G. Wells...his were some of the first books I read as a kid.