List benefits of using science to solve problems Do the benefits justify authority our society gives toscience

Question

What is good about using science to solve problems. I don't understand the second question.

Answer 1

1. Improving health and life expectancies
2. Improving standards of living
3. 'Solving' problems before the problem is even expressed.
Applied scientific process is the best way to solve most problems that aren't purely social.
As far as I know our societies do not grant science any authority to do anything. Scientific advances are difficult to even stop. Thomas Edison did not foresee what his study of electrical phenomena would lead to and Einstein certainly did not realize the importance of his initial physics theories when he made them.

Answer 2

Science, when done right, is just about finding out how things work, and how they are related. It's methods are designed to look at all aspects, and try to determine pure cause and effect.

The problems with science are that it is not praticed in just it's purest form. Testing is often done with a particular goal in mind. Whether it's a company wanting to show it's product is safe and effective, or someone trying to use it to to prove their political/social/religious veiwpoints, data can be tainted.

There is also the problem that people often misunderstand the language. A true scientist will never say that they are sure something is true. Only that there is a preponderance of evidence to show that something will continue. We cannot say we are 100% sure that gravity will still work tomorrow, but it is extremely likely. Terms like theory and law are not the same in science as they are in the general population.

I think that might be what the question is getting at. Just because one experiment shows a relationship, it doesn't make it true. The classic example is that you can show that the more ice cream that is sold at the beach on a given day, the higher the chance that someone will drown. Now, we can look at that and see how both those things are caused by there being more people at the beach on certain days, but someone could manipulate that information to convince you that ice cream should be banned from beaches.

What's really necessary is for more people to be able to look at science with open eyes, free from their own preconceptions of what is true and what isn't. Just because someone in a lab coat tells you something doesn't make it true. But if there is an overwhelming amount of evidence for something, we must accept its validity, and the probablility of it being close to the truth.