THE LIMITS OF THE SCIENCE – PART 1

When a common person comes across a scientist's discovery about any subject, his reaction is invariably a mixture of sincere interest, deep respect and self-imposed humility.

He recoils quietly in a corner, making the greatest effort possible to understand the scientist's thought. He wants to drink a little, no matter how much from that spring of wisdom that he judges as superhuman.

This concept – of the superiority of science and its pupils before other human mortals – is so ingrained in our society, that nobody from an inferior cast dares question it. It would almost be heresy, a subversive attempt of breaking the natural order of things.

The separating shield between humanity and science, molded by the latter with arrogance and presumption, that is only peculiar to it, is careful in rejecting with admirable efficiency any thought contrary to the established structure of values: scientists at the top of the pyramid; other segments of the society arranged in layers in descending order down to the bottom, always housed according to their intellectual capacities.

As time went by this abstract pyramid of values demonstrated to be much more solid, very contrary to the mobility of its members than those social pyramids of different nations. It persisted throughout the centuries, firm and unshaken, impassive to the rise and fall of empires, indifferent to governments and political regimes. This fantastic stability should be credited vaguely to all the members of this pyramid, of values that never allowed anyone imagine that its structure could be any different.

That is how, for a very long time, science managed to force upon humanity many absurd and erroneous ideas, without finding the slightest resistance coming from the lowest level. To each scientific dogma proclamation there also followed a collective compulsory muzzle, in the form of an obscure and unintelligible language, totally inaccessible to the non-elected.

Only the members of the scientific directory held the prerogatives and the means to discuss the new dogmas, benevolently granted to the rest of the world. In international conclaves they exhibited the then discoveries with stuffy polysyllabic worded neologisms, indispensable for the recognition and praise from the other members of the fraternity.

However, at one point both scientists and simple creatures are equal. Everybody is firmly convinced that science is capable to supplying answers to the great questions of mankind. The majority has already accepted this as so…

In reality, very few people realize how limited the performing field of science actually is. And thus they will appear childish, even ridiculous, with the pretension of wanting to unmask the last secrets of the universe this way.

The dogma of scientific infallibility could have only obtained such a wide and unrestricted acceptance, because humanity as a whole gave much more value to the intellect than to its very own spiritual essence.

Proof of this is that the simple mention of the word spirit already causes a certain indisposition in most people. Only hearing or reading this word is sufficient for the intellect to immediately enter into action, trying to make them believe that they are probably confronting something “very serious.”

The same effect is observed with any other concept that the intellect cannot assimilate. Subjects legitimately spiritual today no longer unleash sentiments of happiness and interest, but instead provoke disinterest and rejection brought on by the people's own reasoning, through its customary function of maintaining the usurper on the throne, at all costs. When under a lot of pressure, reasoning, collaborates with the increment of fantasy, supplying an indolent humanity the succedanea for spiritual subjects that it has neglected: the occult, mysticism, magic and blind faith. And that is how the spirit continues sleeping peacefully, unaware, without threatening the tyrannical reign of the brain.

This is the portrait of man today: the spirit being that is embarrassed of its spiritual origin, enslaved by its own intellect, the languid creature, lacking any spiritual vivacity, accepting apathetically the most grotesque religious lies and the most foolish fantasies of the mystic-occult.

If humanity had watered the garden with its spiritual aptitudes the same time it was experimenting the fruit from the tree of knowledge, today Earth would be a paradise.

However, as this did not happen, we have to survive in a world dilacerated with hate, corrupted by greed, poisoned by envy and sunk in poverty. This is the world that the intellect has to offer, when dissociated from the spirit, which is the only thing that is capable of making the human being… a human.

Roberto C. P. Junior