Science and the Humanities

The human race, along with all species that inhabit the earth is derived from a long line of evolutionary steps. What is unusual about the human is the advanced development of the brain which enables him to think beyond the regular means of survival. It is human nature to search for answers as to how and why natural phenomena are in existence. Throughout history humans have come up with theories to explain natural occurrences (The Natural Sciences).

Humans interpret the world around them by means of both scientific and artistic theory. Before the scientific method was used to recreate the world people used mythology to explain how things came to be. An example would be the early explanation of the sun's movement across the sky. It was believed that the mythical character Phoebus guided the sun each day. This theory has since been replaced with the scientific explanation as to how the sun moves each day (The Natural Sciences). Both the mythological and scientific theory fulfilled the human need to explain the suns movement, but science gives a more realistic explanation.

Science takes natural phenomena and breaks it apart in order to understand the process that occurs (The Arts). The process by which a scientist breaks something down in order to obtain a better understanding is referred to as reductionism. Scientists consider all of the aspects of a natural occurrence and then create a consilience of these separate parts to come up with a theory. During the reductionism process there may be a variety of different scientific disciplines such as physics, chemistry, and biology. When put together these separate disciplines can give humans a better understanding of how and why something happens (The Natural Sciences).

Science and the humanities often come in conflict with each other. Supporters of the humanities often feel that science is something that tries to take away the aesthetic beauty and beliefs of the natural world (The Arts). This type of conflict is often seen between the idea of creationism and science. Although there are scientists who do in fact practice religion it is more common to see scientists that are atheists. The goal of science and creationism is to explain how things came to be, but the ways in which they come up with their explanations come in conflict with each other (The Natural Sciences). A common example of this is the scientific theory of evolution. The idea of evolution goes against the idea that a higher being created all that exists on earth today. This has caused a great deal of debate between science and religion throughout history. Recently the Pope developed the theory that god created evolution. This theory is a great example of separate ideas being put together to create a consilience that explains how something on earth came to be.

"Neither science nor the arts can be complete without combining their separate strengths" (The Arts). The arts create an outline for an explanation as to how something came to be and science either supports it or moves the explanation in a different direction. Either way the human's need to understand his surroundings is fulfilled.

References

Wilson, EO. 1998. "The Natural Sciences" and "Arts and Their Interpretation." Consilience- The Unity of Knowledge. Alfred Knopf, New York. Pages 45-65 and 210-237.