Why Science Inspires Beauty & Doesn't Eliminate Transcendence:
The Source of Distaste for the Natural
I have often heard it said that people find scientific discovery to make life's mysteries rigid and mechanical. I am befuddled by this claim, and not surprisingly, I strongly disagree with it. While I fundamentally concur that there is a certain mirth drawn from the mysterious and unknown, I do not think that attempting to clarify and improve our understanding renders the beauty non-existent. To the contrary; the more I begin to learn about the intricacies of the brain and the source of consciousness, the elements and characteristics of a black hole, or simply why I am failing to provide a good final example for this sentence, the more emotional my response is. I have been known to weep upon recognition of the discoveries and lessons taught by Mr. Neil De Grasse Tyson on Cosmos, or by reading the awe-inspiring words in Darwin's record about the finch speciation event in the Galapagos Islands. Of course, I do not even consider myself to have a layman's comprehension of the noble discipline, but whatever meager amount I can register, I treasure the ensuing feeling.
For centuries, the notion of not knowing and not questioning what was unfamiliar or frightening to us was expressed and endorsed. This was either due to a desire for ideological advantage or insecurity of one's integrity and stature, or, both. Religiously political regimes have repeatedly and unfortunately retained the authority to disclose and impart ground-breaking and enlightening information, and as such, human understanding of the cosmos has been slighted and filtered to suit personal agendas. It would be churlish and dishonest to say that many great discoveries were not made by men of holy robes (e.g. the Big Bang Theory), yet censorship and corruption of education are still rife in modern culture. If you do not agree, I would urge you to research some of the Trump administration's efforts to exclude the teaching of the theory of evolution by natural selection to children, in favour of Bronze Age mythological theology. In other words, the state-financed and subsidized stultification of American children, attempting to generate new I.D proponents and making them out to be the laughing stock of the rest of the world. If the schools insist on offering equal teaching time to an unscientific hypothesis of our origins, then Sunday schools and madrasas had better be willing to reciprocate during their sermons. However, I do want to make it clear that I think Bible comprehension (even Quranic) is justified for cultural and literary purposes. Without this, John Donne, John Milton, William Shakespeare and many other's works would be unintelligible to us. A conclusion that would provide me with grief rather than satisfaction.
I would argue that pseudo-mysticism is one pertinent and cogent reason for so many people's penchant against scientific inquiry. Resorting to previously unfounded and cliche assertions of metaphysics, and how love cannot be reduced to chemical reactions in the brain and body. This to my mind is not a reduction, rather, it is an expansion. The more knowledge humanity acquires about the physiological provenance of meditation and the bliss experienced while listening to music and admiring art, the more we have to revere. This is an opportunity to produce more poetry, write new symphonies, and create innovative masterpieces on a canvas. It is not a sacrifice that one has to endure, but a gift that one ought to not spurn. To paraphrase Richard Dawkins "We shall never know what could have been produced, if Michael Angelo had been commissioned to paint the Museum of Science, or what Haydn's Mesozoic symphony would have sounded like." This was due to the institutions who offered patronage, and mankind's well warranted preference for sustenance and prosperity.
The landscape has changed, and faith has had to give quite a bit of ground. Now is precisely the time to capitalize, and appreciate that which nature so generously gives us - real beauty not to be taken for granted.
I humbly submit, a mammal indebted to the contributions of science
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