Bringing Sciences Together

PROF DR BM HEGDE 07 March 2016

Only a unified concept of science (organised curiosity with logical scepticism) can help us understand this universe (multi-verse)

“The saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom.” — Isaac Asimov

Science is trying to understand this universe with the means available, using our five senses. Over the years, sciences were divided into natural sciences, social sciences, political and economic sciences and, of course, human sciences, etc, thanks to Rene Descartes’ reductionism. Progress in many fields was stunted due to this caste system. There is the forward caste of natural sciences and the backward and untouchables in other fields. For example, social sciences were treated as second-class science.

Most of the Western natural sciences are dying a natural death, with the advent of quantum physics and the acceptance of consciousness into science from the realm of philosophy. The original Greek root of the word science is philosophia. This has brought forth a new dimension to science—what is called biocentrism—the origin of all human (and animal) thought and behaviour is centred on our perception of this world. Everything depends on our consciousness. Each of us has individual worldview (biocentrism).

It was beautifully put by Max Planck who said that “there is no perception without a perceiver.” He also emphasised that the whole world is but consciousness and all matter is derived from there. This automatically puts social and all other human-related sciences into the same basket as natural sciences. The latter is undergoing a sea change after the advent of quantum physics. Biology is fast changing into systems biology and the new evolutionary biology. Human physiology needs a drastic change to keep man alive on this planet and so do other natural sciences. This, therefore, is the ideal time for a change of heart among those that want to understand this universe (multi-verse). Only a unified concept of science (organised curiosity with logical scepticism) can accomplish this, as the conventional natural sciences can only grasp as much as their five senses let them. Now, we are able to comprehend much more than what we grasp with our five senses.

How Do We Do It?

Any change is resisted by the status quoists. They have their vested interests in keeping the system the way it is, since reductionism in science feeds the greedy business of drugs, instruments, chemicals for fertilisers and what have you. The so-called conventional natural scientists and their paymasters will not let this happen. For the common good of the common man, sciences will have to come together which will make all the ills of single systems fade away. There are few independent thinking people in this world that will stick their neck out for their principles to save mankind and go after the reality. One small example will do. We have been spending lakhs of crores of rupees for the moon mission, etc, while we have the highest number of malnourished children (47 million) who do not get enough money to feed them; they are dying daily of nutritional immune deficiency syndrome (NIDS). We let them die!

In case we had all the sciences come together, and if we have humane managers of funds, one would certainly think that keeping dying children alive has greater priority than going to the moon. The latter can certainly wait. Another humane scientist might think of researching to make man tranquil here to be able to land in his neighbour’s house with a smile on his face. That would be a greater advancement—to bring man and man together—than landing on the barren moon. One can go on and on giving more evidence to say that ending the caste system in science will benefit mankind. Science satisfies our curiosity to know how this world works. But one gets only a keyhole view of the world. While reductionist science is destructive, holistic sciences will help build bridges of love between man and man.

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