No More Mr. Nice Guy!

Reason is the reason for the science

One more post "inspired" by today's Repulsive, while I can still keep my eyes open. Rob-squared writes,

"This is a dangerous state of affairs for humanity," the pope said, "as we see from the disturbing pathologies of religion and reason which necessarily erupt when reason is so reduced that questions of religion and ethics no longer concern it. Attempts to construct an ethic from the rules of evolution or from psychology and sociology, end up being simply inadequate."

As best I can tell, this did not engender death threats to the pope from atheistic or agnostic biologists, psychologists or sociologists.

Tsk, tsk, PZ Myers! Falling down on the job!

Seriously though, I'm sick and tired of being told that reason and religious faith are two sides of the same coin, equally valid ways of discovering the truth, yada yada yada. I'm also Christ-weary of being smugly preached at, "science doesn't answer moral questions." Goddamit, that's not science's job!

The purpose of science is to understand how the universe works. Science proceeds from the assumption that there is something which we call "reality" which exists whether you believe in it or not, or for that matter whether you exist or not. This "reality", we further assume, is governed by naturalistic laws and relationships which are in principle understandable and repeatable. This means we can perform experiments and learn something from the results.

Some people complain about this "naturalistic bias" of science, which only shows how ignorant they are. What other basis could science have? If the universe is governed by invisible, irrational forces whose every whim affects our lives, experiments would not be repeatable and any attempt to study the universe would be a waste of time.

With me so far? Good. Now, here's an important point. Science does not answer moral questions, nor does it claim to. Evolution, for example, does not say: "We descended from monkeys, therefore we are nothing but monkeys" - a tediously common creationist strawman which is oxymoronic and self-refuting on its face. Just as the theory of gravity doesn't say you should push little old ladies off tall buildings, as Richard Dawkins put it.

On the other hand, religion doesn't answer moral questions either! Although of course it claims to. But all religion has is unsubstantiated assertions. Needless to say, every flavor of religion has a different set of assertions. What, you believe in transubstantiation rather than consubstantiation? Death to you, heathen! And of course when religion intrudes into scientific questions, the results are typically comic (e.g. creationism) and/or tragic (e.g. creationism).

That's the difference between religion and science. There is room for disagreement in science, but in the end, the theory with the best evidence on its side wins, and a consensus develops. In religion there is no consensus because there is no evidence. Anyone can make any kind of outrageous claim and cite some ancient scroll in support. Religious disagreements cannot be settled by reason, which is why holy wars are always the bloodiest.

The idea that one has to accept some package deal or other of irrational superstitions and taboos in order to be a moral person is a great steaming pile of holy horsecrap. In fact, I would say that religion and morality have nothing to do with each other. Though reason and science are not the same thing, I would say that reason is the foundation of both science and morality. In the case of morality, reason must be joined with empathy for one's fellow creatures. That's really all we need - no cosmic Peeping Tom, no old man with a beard waiting to throw you into the lake of eternal fire. Simply treat others as you would wish to be treated, and let your judgment by guided by reason and by the best knowledge available, and always tempered with empathy.

The pope's attempts to make reason the handmaiden of (his particular brand of) religion are as offensive to me as his Paleologos quote was to Muslims. Reason and religion cannot be reconciled, because religion is fundamentally irrational! One or the other has to win, and if it's religion, we are all seriously screwed.