Details of a scientifically driven society

[John Blackhawk]

Something i've been thinking about lately. What would one find in a purely scientific driven society? What wouldn't you find in a purely scientific society?

If you want examples to consider look at the world of pokemon, also look at the movie "Tommorrowland"

 

[oggbashan]

Perhaps you should read Sir Francis Bacon:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Atlantis

 

[littlecordelera]

The lyrics to John Lennon's, Imagine, sum it up pretty well.

 

[Snugbug]

We've had examples in the past of what happens when people do science for science sake only and don't take ethics into account. It leads to abuses and dangerous human experimentation with minorities as the test subjects.

 

[SimonDoom]

Something i've been thinking about lately. What would one find in a purely scientific driven society? What wouldn't you find in a purely scientific society?

If you want examples to consider look at the world of pokemon, also look at the movie "Tommorrowland"

What do you mean by "a purely scientific society"? I think the answer to the question depends on what you mean by the question.

 

[John Blackhawk]

What do you mean by "a purely scientific society"? I think the answer to the question depends on what you mean by the question.

A society that is not driven by politics or religion. And i mentioned tommorrowland and Pokemon because i thought those were the best examples of this.

 

[Hypoxia]

Humans are political animals. That won't change.
Humans like faith-based explanations. Easier than thinking.
Humans are not rational, but *rationalizing* animals, creating excuses.
A 'rational' society would quickly be taken by populist assholes.
Do we need ET aliens to tell us how to live?

 

[BlackSnake]

sex machines
automation
fly cars
moving sidewalks

 

[SimonDoom]

I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this.

I can, sort of, imagine a society where people do not believe in the supernatural, where their beliefs in "what is" are governed by logic and empirical proof, rather than faith. That might take care of many religious creeds, but it wouldn't get rid of, say, Buddhism, nor would it get rid of the need/desire for people to gather together in religious kinds of services.

I don't know what it would mean to live in a world without politics, or how such a world would be scientific. Scientific people always will disagree. Some scientific minded people claim to be socialists. Some scientific minded people claim to be libertarians. So I'm not sure how you get rid of politics.

Even if people agree in general on not trusting faith about things like god's existence, the creation, the afterlife, etc, they will conflict on basic values and tastes. And that's a good thing. It would be a boring world where everyone listened to the same music or read the same erotic stories.

 

[rutger5]

A society that is not driven by politics or religion. And i mentioned tommorrowland and Pokemon because i thought those were the best examples of this.

To many science is their religion. The human mind (even of a scientist) is still the human mind. It is still subject to the same failings. Instead of justifying their actions by the word of God or by the will of the people they will claim logic or the scientific method. Scientists won't admit they are wrong any more than the rest of us will, an example of this being the replication crisis.

Such a society could make for some interesting stories though. Think Herbert West - re-animator as the Minister of Science as example. But in a world with so many people it would be hard if not impossible to remove politics. It goes against human nature. Would need a cataclysm to greatly thin the herd first.

 

[John Blackhawk]

Ok I accept there needs to be some politics even in a scientifically driven society. Though not to the point of it being behemoth like in the US.

Though i would like to understand SimonDoom's argument as why a Scientifically driven society wouldn't get rid of something like Buddism?

 

[SimonDoom]

Though i would like to understand SimonDoom's argument as why a Scientifically driven society wouldn't get rid of something like Buddism?

Science is a method of answering empirical questions about the world. Why do apples fall from trees? How did people evolve? Science doesn't answer questions of value. It doesn't tell you how to live. It doesn't tell you what you should enjoy, or how to have fun, or how to live in a way that you find satisfying or meaningful. It never will.

So, even if a world where we substitute the scientific method (i.e., hypothesis testing and experimentation) for faith-based approaches to empirical questions, people will turn to non-scientific value systems to find meaning and joy. It's likely they'll turn to various forms of ceremonies and rituals, because people like that sort of thing. Buddhism offers a way of living and thinking about things that doesn't require a non-empirical belief in a deity. I don't see why science would do away with it.