Of course the current scientific picture is not final, and a definitive picture may never be possible. Nonetheless the elegance of mathematics, the power of universal constants such as the speed of light and equations such as E=mc2, the splendor of the atomic model and of subatomic physics, the awesome beauty of the DNA double helix, the revelation of the fossil evidence of past geologic ages, the unfathomable energy of the sun, the magnificence of the Hubble deep field photographs, and much more defy reasonable challenge. This cosmic reality, understood only because of thousands of years of human seeking is worthy of our acceptance, wonder, and reverence.
However the scientific portrait leaves unanswered problems such as whether there is a multiverse, a creator, strict determination, or any immaterial facet to the universe. Consciousness remains inadequately explained and mysterious. There is still the question of the validity of advanced theoretical mathematics that lies beyond empirical confirmation, or even why there is anything at all. So some gaps in our understanding of cosmic reality remain. Philosophers known as positivists and some scientists assert that in the absence of material evidence or clear proof of a hypothesis (e.g. a creator of the universe), we should reject non-scientific theories, often citing some variation of Ockham’s razor. However there is room here for debate by reasonable persons, including many without strong religious beliefs. While science is likely to be the best tool to resolve these unknowns, there is no way for us to be sure for now.
In addition, even today, people of faith challenge science on the basis of revelation and spiritual experiences. Science by its nature is not a tool appropriate to study that model of cosmic reality, but the issue of faith and the reality of religious texts will be the subject of future blogs. And finally skeptics still find room to challenge science as statistical or probabilistic, even occasionally contradictory, rather than absolute.
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1 Bacon, Francis, Novum Organon, The Great Books, 1952. Especially pages 127-136.
2Hume, David, Concerning Human Understanding. The Great Books, 1952. Pages 476-478.
3Haick, Ernst, The Riddle of the Universe. The Thinker’s Library. 1931. Especially chapter XX, pages 298-312.
4 For an excellent review of the current scientific understanding of the universe and the limitations of science and mathematics, see Professor Steve Gimbel’s Redefining Reality: The intellectual Implications of Modern Science. The Great Courses, especially lectures 1-13.
