Faith in Science

Tuesday, January 7, 2009

“La Science a perdu son prestige, et la Religion a reconquis une partie du sien.” -M. Brunetiere from Review des Deux Mondes, Jan. 1 1895. (“Science has lost its prestige, and Religion has recovered a portion of hers.” Zahm’s translation, Evolution and Dogma p. 406.)

For most people, belief in evolution is no less a matter of faith than belief in creationism. Most who believe in evolutionary theory do so because “science has proven it”–the theory is backed by scientific exploration and consensus. However, the vast majority do not know specifically what experiments have been performed. They know there are fossils, they know that scientists say these are hundreds of thousands of years old, but they don’t know what evidence this assertion is based upon, or whether the individual scientists who make these claims are credible. We have faith in evolutionary theory because the scientific community stands behind it, and we have good reason to believe in the scientific community–they have usually been truthful in the past, and their work has led to technology that we use every day. The scientific community has authority, and it is on the basis of this authority that we believe the scientific theory of evolution.

What about those who believe in creationism? They obviously have much less faith in the scientific community. Perhaps it is that they believe their Bible or their pastor is a better source of authority than “some scientist” in some city somewhere. The point is that belief in creationism is not necessarily irrational unwillingness to see an obvious truth; it may simply be that an individual respects the authorities who subscribe to creationism a lot more than the authority of the scientific community. This hypothetical individual is not, on the face of it, making a decision that is any less rational than the person who believes in evolution without understanding any of the evidence.

How and when did science get this authority? When and by what process did people in the past begin to trust that scientists were dedicated to the pursuit of truth and that they had the answers?

Many people used to distrust doctors. 200 years ago there were some very valid reasons. When did doctors become believable, credible experts? By what process? Scientists seem to have gained credibility earlier and more thoroughly than doctors. Why?

The issue I am discussing here is not interior to science. I am not talking about how scientists came to believe in evolution. I am wondering how the public came to believe in scientists.

Why did anyone read Darwin or pay attention to what he had to say? What made them think he wasn’t making it all up?* What about Spencer, Chambers, and Lamarck? What made people decide these writers knew what they were talking about, based their theories on credible evidence, and were worth listening to?

obviously, a lot of people did think he was making it up, and many still think so today.