Pyeong Hwa Gyeong (069) BOOK 5. Absolute Values and a New World Order CHAPTER 3. Science and Absolute Values
1. The development of science and the issues now facing humankind
At present, ever more serious problems continue to develop and confront humankind. The solutions to these challenging problems call for and indeed require both localized approaches and a global approach. Therefore, we demand the wisdom and knowledge of the many distinguished scholars who are gathered here at this conference.
As a scientist myself, I have been observing with keen interest the development of science and technology. I know that science and technology and what we call the “scientific method” have had a far-reaching impact on human life. Through observation and study of the world of reality, science has extended and expanded our perception of this reality beyond our physical senses.
For example, we are now cognizant of bacteria, which we can detect using a microscope. Some of us journey to the moon, directed by computers whose astronomical speed of calculation baffles the human mind, while others talk about making such travels an everyday possibility.
To our naked eye, the earth still appears flat, but science has compelled us to admit that it is round. A diamond appears to be solid and we were once amazed to know that in fact it is a scattering of particles in mostly empty space.
On a more abstract level, the transition from reality to extended reality is illustrated by the transition from classical to quantum mechanics and from the deterministic model to the probabilistic model, both of which are equally confusing to non-scientists.
Although the progress in science has provided us with a tremendous amount of information, we still suffer from our inability to internalize this information and our inability to fully comprehend its deeper implications. This inability has led to much anxiety, confusion and uncertainty as we lose our firm reference points. As a result, we feel we are in a state of imbalance with scientific progress due to the suddenly expanded reality. |