There is a significant debate between many experts about the origins of the universe and the explanations as to why humanity is the way it is. Three of the main channels for this are religion, philosophy, and science. Science is by far the most important approach to understanding how the world works. It is the most understandable, solid explanation for the answers that many people seek. It explains why the world was created, how humans, plants, and animals came to be, and why people are hardwired to do the things that they do. Everything is explained within a discipline of science, whether it is in biology, chemistry, or physics.
Science is the only explanation that offers valid proof and evidence that many of the events that created civilization, the planet, and the natural world actually happened. In science, if experiments and observations do not live up to the ideas, they are discarded (Hawking 42). If ideas can be proven wrong by other forms of evidence, they are also discarded. Science is based entirely on explanations of truth, determining how the world works being one of the universal truths that is important to everyone, regardless of background, regional differences, status, or age. Other disciplines, specifically philosophy and religion, simply offer theories and ideas about the logistics of humanity without testing anything. Therefore, science gives people enough reason to go by that actually makes sense, instead of many of the creation theories or the concepts of morality that are questioned in philosophical debates.
Philosophy is based on questioning, with no right or wrong answer. This does not leave a solid foundation to base any explanation of the universe on. Stephen Hawking, one of the greatest scientific minds of all time, has accused philosophers as being “failed physicists who found it too hard to invent new theories and so took to writing about the philosophy of physics instead” (Hawking 42). This might sound mean, but it is ultimately true that a philosopher’s job is simply to guess. Scientists prove themselves and their ideas.
Religious theory of the creation of the universe rests on divine intervention and the idea that humans were created from God. Creationist theory states that all living things on Earth are “creations of God” (Schicatano 185). The idea is that God decided to create the Earth, light, and other features of the world, and then sat back to admire his creation, determining it to be “good” (Schicatano 185). Science has completely disproved creation by showing complete proof of evolutionary theory. The theory of evolution is based on the explanation that humans and animals have become adapted to different conditions on the planet and, over time, changed their bodies to accommodate these changes (Smith 26). According to some religions, humanity has only existed for a few thousand years (Hawking 86). However, scientists have proved this to be untrue as well with the recovering of ancient bones and skeletons that date back tens of thousands of years.
Alex Rosenberg states, “Understanding science is crucial to our understanding of our civilization as a whole” (2). This is undeniably true because science offers explanations and clarification to the questions that people in society have. People have been studying science since the Ancient Greeks (Rosenberg 2), who offered a hybrid of philosophy and science in their observations and writings. Science was separated from religion and philosophy for good when Darwin came out with The Origin of Species in 1859 (Rosenberg 2). Darwin confirmed the theory of evolution in his work, claiming that animals evolved to their surroundings through the process of survival of the fittest. Humans did the same through this method, as explained through the hard work and research done by scientists.
Works Cited
Hawking, Stephen. Black Holes and Baby Universes, and Other Essays. New York, NY: Bantam
Books, 1993.
Rosenberg, Alex. Philosophy of Science: A Contemporary Introduction. New York, NY:
Routledge, 2005.
Schicatano, Jim. The Theory of Creation. Lincoln, NE: Writers Club Press, 2001.
Smith, John Maynard. The Theory of Evolution. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press,
1993.
