SCIENCE AND HUMAN HAPPINESS

SCIENCE AND HUMAN HAPPINESS

This age of ours is the age of science, and much of man’s happiness depends and how man utilizes the immense power of since. Imagine how the man of today can survive without the various scientific discoveries and inventions made from time to time, which have rendered his life comfortable and worth living. Think of electricity, the wireless, the aero plane, the railway, the motor car, wonder pull drugs, and thousands and one other achievements of science, which have become indispensable for our day to day existence. Science also has given man something which in much more useful the scientific outlook, without which be cannot make progress that lies in store for him.

Scientific outlook helps a man to ascertain facts, grasp, them accurately. It gives him training in observation, a ration habit of man. It widens immensely the horizon of mind, extend its range, gives it a sense, of infinite possibilities, and makes life more interesting and alive. It is rare to find a scientist who is pessimist for he lives in an atmosphere of progress. The scientist is an explorer of an unknown world with infinite possibilities of discovery, and not only is the act of discovery, and not only is the act of discovery exciting, but it leads on to actions, to practical result. It seeks to know, but also to transform the world, and this is a further stimulus to those who follow it.

Scientific outlook tend to analyze every object. Chemistry resolves matters into elements, physic resolves it into atoms, biology resolves organic life into cells. Now this spirit which is born of scientific outlook, has become characteristic of any kind of scientific inquiry in any field.

But the various scientific discoveries and inventions and the scientific outlook with the study of science has engendered have not proved to be unmixed blessing for mankind. Science has, no doubt, made mans life more comfortable, healthy and bright, and it has given about certain complications and created some new problems which stand in the way of human happiness.

For example, science has upset international relations by annihilating space, it has abolished distance, made the five continents adjacent countries, and unified the world. At the beginning nineteenth century a letter from England too weeks, in favorable circumstances, to reach America, and its arrival was uncertain. Today can speak from London to a friend in New York in fifteen minutes and be with him in twelve hours. All kinds of materials can be now bought from distance countries at a much cheaper price, than could be imagined a hundred a years ago. Under such circumstance the international relations of the past are an anachronism, and fit a body politic as ill as the clothes of a child fit a grown up man. But the people of different nations have not yet developed outlook demand by modern conditions, and they still think in an isolated and provincial manner of an earlier age to which steam and electricity were unknown. This fact has created a serious problem which is responsible for much of modern conflicts in the internationals field, and which has led to much human misery in the form of wars.

Another problem created by science is that it has given man the power to abolish poverty but this power has brought fortune in the hands of a few nations, who are too uneducated to spend the intelligence. Instead of using huge amounts of wealth placed in the hands of the scientifically advanced nations of the world, for the good of mankind as a whole, these nations are trying to exploit the poorer nations, and dominate them politically and economically. Every capacity is capacity for evil as well as for good, and each addition to human power is a chance to misuse it, for example the printing press has distributed more falsehood, corruption and rubbish to men the wisdom, knowledge and beauty.

Modern technology whereas, it has greatly accelerated the industrial progress of the world has impaired craftsmanship replacing it by mass manufacture, turning the skilled worker into an automation on the production line, marking men richer in their possessions and poorer in themselves. Ruskin rightly remarked “no changing of place at a hundred miles an hour, no marking of stuffs a thousand yards a minute, more in the world than man could see, walked by over so slowly they will see it no better for going fast. As for being able to talk from place to place, that is indeed, well and convenient, but suppose you have, originally , nothing, to say!

We shall be obliged at last to confess, what we should long ago have known, that the really precious things are thought and sight, not pace. It go slow for his glory is not all in going, but in being.

The outlook is also not free from Certain glaring disadvantages. A purely scientific education has a narrowing effect. Natural science seems so all embracing, that we do not notice that vast regions of life and these the most important do not came within its view, and a mind dominated by it would naturally be inclined to ignore or underestimate them. It has little to say about those creations of the human spirit, which alone are immortal, great literature or great art. Moreover, the spirit of analysis engendered by scientific outlook has gone its own serious limitations.

Science also has created some crucial problems, which if not adequately solved, will jeopardize human existence, and bring untold misery to mankind, but we cannot blame science for this, it is a man who is to blame. Under the new conditions created by science, man must change his primitive outlook. Science is guiltless, it is our hands that are unclean. Science goes steadily about her work, revealing the greatness of man, and if he misuses it, he is to be blamed for it, the gifts of science do not corrupt man, if new problem are created by the discoveries an inventions of science, and man is exposed to new temptations, and thrown into confusion, it doesn’t mean that he should go back on science. We must go forward. A great new force that comes into the world is revolutionary. And for the moment upsets and confuses the minds of man. Than was true of all great movements as for science. In course of time man will prove him self equal to the task of solving these problems and meet the new challenge successfully, and will certainly survive the crisis precipitated by science as the past.

The  most outstanding modern inventions is the inventions of the atomic and hydrogen bomb. But we do hope the man will be able to survive this crisis, and use these tremendous energies for his benefit rather than for his destructions, as in the past. Al ready the atomic energy attention to the effects of radiant energy, both those that may prove to be beneficent and those that science has placed in his hand, and also adjust himself to the changed conditional in such a manner that if will contribute to his happiness.

Albert Einstein the greatest of modern times, give the key of the problem of science and human happiness, when he remarked, why does the magnificent applied science, which saves work and makes life easier, bring us so little happiness? The simple answer runs – because we have not yet learned to make a sensible use of it.

In war, it serves we may poison and mutilate each other. In peace it has made our lives hurried and  uncertain instead of freeing us in great measure from spiritually exhausting labor, it has made men to slaves of machinery, who for the most part complete their monotonous long day’s work with disgust, and must continually tremble for their poor rations.

Certainly we want science be used for the betterment of human being and humanity. Pure since is important because it is a search for truth. Nevertheless we want to apply it for a betterment of human being. It is not only justified but it s right. On the other hand, if in the pursuit of the objective you make since and he pursuit of truth a kind of handmaid to set policies which you have in mind-political or other then, perhaps the temper of since is effected and the approach to science is not exactly what it should be.

One sees on the one hand people some time praising since and other times becoming very apprehensive because since has led to discoveries and use of the tremendous power of nature which can be used for good or evil and which has produced terrible weapon of mass slaughter. Surely that is not the fault of the science. It is the fault of human beings who misuses science. Science is neutral as truth neutral. There is no question of it being positive or negative. It is no good blaming science or scientists. If you blame science you can as well blame knowledge. Knowledge misused is dangerous, yet we want and seek knowledge. We must know how to use it properly.

We do live in extraordinary age when skies are field up day and night by planes carrying hydrogen bombs. It is an extraordinary thought that a loss of nerve by the commander of the aircraft or a slight mistake of organization might lead to terrific consequence. All these are being done as a measure of precaution, it no good blaming science for it. Science must go on. The moment science ceases to develop, the nations approach and ways science so as benefit by it and not to use it for evil purposes.

Science, therefore, should gradually develop something of the wisdom of the sages and something of the compassions of saints. Science thus for had not been conditioned by saintly things. Sometimes those who dealt with them in that way deluded themselves and went astray. It was dangerous. Yet, the fact remained that a good deal of wisdom was necessary as also a good deal of compassion and not merely scientific discoveries and achievements, good and essential as the latter were.

The scientist is supposed to be an objective seeker after truth. Science has grown because in large measure the great scientists have sought truth in the way. But I suppose no and today, even a scientist, can live in a worlds of his own, in some kind of ivory tower, cut of from what is happening. Therefore, science today has perhaps begun to cross the border of morals and ethics, than the power it possesses may be used for evil purposes. But above all, if it ties to the teaching of hatred and violence, than undoubtedly it will have taken a wrong direction, which will bring much peril to the world.