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Writer's pictureFer Pal

Belief Vs. Science

Updated: Sep 3, 2021

Two and a half million years ago in Ethiopia, an ancestor of Homo sapiens created the first stone tools. The first indications of the use of fire by a hominid date back 1.42 million years according to fragments of red clay found at a site in East Africa. Between 200,000 and 700,000 years there appear even more obvious indications of the use of fire. In my opinion, these events are closely related to the development of the cerebral neocortex and therefore to the intellect. It is the moment in which science arises, which although very primitive, was to be the forerunner of the great technological and scientific development of our days.


From the moment in which hominids and later homo sapiens, developed their intellect, they began to find solutions to problems related to their survival, such as creating tools, providing heat, or cooking food. All these improvements in survival should have transformed the society of our ancestors and began to ask questions of a deeper nature, such as those of the spiritual type and related to meteorological events. It is here when the human being, through the creativity that characterizes the intellect, creates the myth.

According to wikipedia the myth "is a traditional story that refers to some prodigious events, starring supernatural or extraordinary beings, such as gods, demigods, heroes, monsters or fantastic characters, who seek to give an explanation to a fact or phenomenon.

Myths are part of the belief system of a culture or a community, where they are considered as true stories. The set of myths of a culture is called mythology. "This is the moment when beliefs are born.


For thousands of years, the human being and his predecessors were maturing the neocortex and developing their intellect. During all this time and to this day, creativity also expanded, and in the face of the intellectual questions that were asked, not finding a logical answer, due to the limitations of our own mind, mythical, magical or religious answers were generated, giving way to the innumerable beliefs that all humanity has ... both religious and non-religious.

However, in recent decades, scientific and intellectual development is displacing religions and beliefs around the world since science provides demonstrable facts. From my point of view, the main difference between belief and science is that belief starts from an imaginary premise in the face of the incapacity of logical understanding of an event, while science starts from a hypothetical premise based on universal facts and laws, trying to demonstrate in a rational, empirical and demonstrable way an event. Thus, as we have matured intellectually, science has been able to demonstrate countless biological, geological and cosmic events that were previously "explained" with mere myths, magic or religious beliefs.


So what difference is there between believing or not believing? My opinion is that most beliefs are limiting. Believing in something that is not proven can formally prevent your intellect from expanding and therefore find more adequate and safe responses to different events or problems. In other words, what is the use of believing in something that is part of the human imagination, instead of developing my intellect to try to find true answers that attend to the laws of the universe? For example, believing in "beings of light" that are going to solve our problems can take us away from studying light as a physical event, which can bring us substantial improvements in our lives and the rest of society, just as we do. ancestors studied stones to create tools that would enhance their survival. Therefore, science is the tool we use to be able to discern what is true from what is potentially a lie, a speculation. And how do we define science? "The only possible science is observation." This definition that a wise old man, Carlos Milla Villena, once told me, I love to define science. So if we observe nature, the cosmos, the universe, we can determine the laws that govern us and therefore apply them in our day to day, being creative and avoiding falling into the trap of beliefs and speculations of the human imagination. Because beliefs are not just spiritual. They are of all kinds, especially commercial ones. For example, believing that what we eat has no effect on my health, when observing nature is telling me the opposite, it is very dangerous for my life. Believing that we are not in a climate change when all the scientists with the greatest impact are proving the opposite, and the mere observation of what happens shows it, is going to have catastrophic consequences for all humanity and other species. Believing that various astrological events have a determining effect on my emotions can keep me from taking responsibility for my life. I firmly believe that "believing" is a death trap for our intellectual development, and that the only belief that is worth anything is to believe in oneself. For all other intellectual questions, it is much more convenient to train our intellect and use science.


And what happens when science cannot explain certain events? It is simply time to be humble and recognize that our mind is still limited, that our understanding has reached this point and perhaps saying "I don't know" is better than giving free rein to the imagination.

It is probable that in the future, our descendants will continue to decipher the codes that the Universe hides. Until then we can only surrender to the mysteries and magic that life hides and simply surrender to the greatness of creation transcending the mind to achieve love.




Blessings

Fer




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