It is now the duty of scientists to reclaim the discipline of science so that it can be used for the greater good
LAHORE: In today’s age of technological advancements, the discipline of science is considered to have supreme authority over all other disciplines because scientists have claimed dominion over truth and reality.
The reason this came about was two-folds. Firstly, due to the industrial revolution and the technological advancements of the 19th and 20th century, a plethora of measuring tools and machines were invented. These apparatuses could present and visualise the hidden structures of nature in a way that it could be seen by the naked eye, thus providing concrete proof of the existence of intangible ideas such as gravitational waves. Soon after, science took to the forefront and became the discipline through which reality was examined and organised in a tangible form, overtaking religion. Secondly, the rise of analytical reasoning and qualitative research in Western academia provided the theoretical grounds whereby science could understand the truth of reality through the concepts of simple logic.
It is because of these factors that science today has evolved into a force that can be used to analyse and solve world problems. However, powerful leaders and rich elites have taken control of scientific institutions for their own self-interests. They have come to realise that these institutions have the power to produce the reality of tomorrow. It is now the duty of scientists to reclaim the discipline of science so that it can be used for the greater good.
Ibrahim Sarwar
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2020.
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