EMDR Forum Archive, 1999
Science and Progress
Francine Shapiro · 7/19/97 at 1:34 PM ET
I wholeheartedly agree that the tools of scientific investigation are crucial to eliminate error and objectively evaluate that which can be observed in order to counterbalance the possible distortion caused by subjective interpretation. However, to my way of thinking, the essence of science is investigation--not doubt. If science is used in the service of humanity, its mandate is to explore and expand the bounds of knowledge. The springboard is then curiosity and the goal is KNOWING. If doubt becomes the driving force of science then it often is subverted to the goal of debunking anything that cannot currently be measured or explained. Science then takes on the stature of religion and the dominant myth that is accepted is that one should not entertain, accept, or believe that which cannot be currently proven. Unfortunately, this eliminates from the arena all those things for which there are so far insufficient theory, measurements, and conceptual frameworks.
If one is an ape, one is reduced to that which can be understood and conceptualized in that framework. If one is a human being, there is the ability to apprehend the ineffable and the possible. The goal is to develop the tools of science to understand the governing principles of mind, body, and nature--from the subatomic to the universal. While an ape might not believe in holy water, neither would it believe in--nor have been able to conceptualize--the atom. And without the capacity for symbolic thought and conceptualization beyond the realm of what is known, all progress ceases.
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