Logic vs Comfort

For anyone living in a modern nation today, the world is full of blessings thanks to science. We have access to vast amount of knowledge, copious amounts of food, and the ability to jump in a car and travel hundreds of miles in a single day. But reading Darwin made me realize that the source of these blessings is also the cause of many problems to humans on a very personal level. The view of the universe that science has given us works very well in a purely logical world, but we are not purely logical creatures; and we never will be. We pride ourselves on this fact in our feel-good entertainment (particularly movies); showing that emotion is greater than pure machine logic. Yet the view of the universe we are expected to accept by the academic and scientific world is logical to the utmost. Herein we find the issue with the universe science presents, and the revelation I came to after reading Darwin. Humans need to find a view of the world that coincides with their own individual thoughts and beliefs.
Philip K Dick’s Exhibit Piece begins with George Miller, a man that is unhappy with his current life. It quickly becomes apparent that he empathizes with the ideas and culture of the twentieth century far more than those of his own time, and in the story we find him suddenly living the life of a twentieth century citizen, surrounded by the things that make him happy. Although there is definitely confusion about which world is real and which is illusion, there is no argument about which one George chooses to call his home. By choosing to stay in the twentieth century reality, George selected the reality that best fit his own system of beliefs and needs. The world George rejected had many opportunities available to him that were simply did not exist in the twentieth century, yet he chose the less advanced world anyway. He threw away the world with advanced researching technology, and advanced robotics in favor of dark wine colored carpets and an easy chair (Dick). In the end, it wasn’t about what was logical, it was about what made him happiest. George’s decision echoes a choice all of us make about what our own world includes. If we choose to believe in the world of science, we get incredible explanations and well researched answers. But what the world of science does not give, is comfort.
There is a reason every culture around the world has a unique mythology explaining the unexplained. It is the same reason why people tend to reject and fear what they do not understand. Humans need to live in a world that reflects their own beliefs and understandings. If they have nothing to believe to provide answers, they will invent their own reality to do so (Abrams). Every person that ever lived has created a reality that suited their personal mental needs, beliefs and feelings. This is a major reason why so many debates have been held on the topic of evolution. Some people find the concept liberating, providing them with a world that makes sense, and others find the idea alienating, showing them a world that is unfriendly and cold. Personal comforts show us why these debates rage on, yet personal comforts count for nothing in the world of science. And in educational institutions around the world, science is mandatorily the only story to be believed because it is the only one that is logical. When understanding this, it becomes obvious why theories such as intelligent design came into being. People were struggling to find a system of beliefs that match what they feel is true. And of course once an idea is established, the next natural step is to look vigorously for evidence that supports your theory, and less vigorously for evidence that denies it. Darwin felt the same way. He had been raised and educated under Christian doctrine, believing that God created the world we all live in. So when his found evidence to contradict this comfortable way of thinking, it is no wonder he hesitated to publish his theory.
Contrastingly, it is also no wonder that Elizabeth Cady Stanton wanted the world to lose Christian doctrine in favor of evolution. One take on Christianity shows that woman is often portrayed as the root of the beginning of evil and the downfall of man. In Stanton’s perspective, Darwin offered a perspective that liberated her from what she felt was an unfair sentence and an ignorant viewpoint (Stanton).
Cosmology and 21st-Century Culture sums the essence of this idea perfectly. Science has given us a world where, “most educated people in the 21st century live in a cosmology defined by a 17th-century picture of cold, still, empty space, along with fragments of traditional stories and doubts about what is real”. And despite the evidence science has given us about the origins of the universe, “It never fully replaced the Medieval universe in people's hearts, partly because it felt so incomplete.” In this viewpoint there is no particular place for humans and certainly no place for God (Abrams).
Learning about Darwin has brought this understanding to my attention in a way that nothing else could. Although the pieces of this idea have been known to me for a while, examining the topics created by Darwin’s work truly solidified this for me. I do not believe that science can ever replace the comfort of religion, nor do I think that it is the job of science to do so. That being said, I think it is wonderful that so many ideas are presented to us every day. It makes each one of us aware of our own view on the world, and forces us to come to terms with the world.



Works Cited
Dick, Philip K. The Philip K. Dick Reader, New York: Citadel Press. 1987

Stanton, Elizabeth Cady. “The Women’s Bible.” in Darwin. 3rd ed. Philip Appleman, ed . New York: W.W.Norton, 2001.

Abrams, Nancy and Joel Primack. "Cosmology and 21st-Century Culture." Science. September 7, 2001. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/293/5536/1769