On Science & Skepticism

Last weekend's Skepticamp had some thought provoking sessions, and some that went as far as to get downright argumentative. One such presentation was on Atheistic Evangelism by Tim Avery from GotAtheism.com. Although Tim's presentation was little more than the regurgitation of Dawkins and Harris (he even went as far as passing off a George Carlin skit as his own original idea), it did get me thinking about the relationship between science, skepticism, and atheism. One participant even posed the question, "What good news does atheism have to offer?"

None, as far as I'm concerned, because atheism by itself is a limp worldview that enriches a person's life very little. In fact, the concept of atheism only really makes sense in the framework of a response to the religious worldview. Instead, the good news I herald is one of the scientific method: that the universe is explainable, predicable, and wholly understandable.

The universe is explainable because it abides by sets of natural laws, and science is the best tool our species has developed for uncovering and understanding those laws. Gravity causes cosmic dust to aggregate into planets, stars, and galaxies. Weak and strong nuclear forces cause chemical reactions to happen while new and increasingly complex compounds form. Species that imperfectly reproduce also adapt and evolve. The current state of the universe is explainable because of science.

The universe is predictable because of those same natural laws. Women aren't made from men's ribs, people don't rise from the dead, and human virgins don't have babies (although many other organisms do). However, stories do get embellished, lies do get told, and meaning does get convoluted over centuries of retellings and mistranslations.

This two points together mean that both the past and future are accessible to us though science, which is something that nothing else can offer. When we understand where we've been, and can assess the probably of where we're going, the universe becomes entirely capable of being understood. This doesn't mean that every one is going to be able to understand quantum physics or molecular genetics, but it does mean that over time, when we all work together, our species can make progress toward that understanding. As Charles Darwin once said:

"doing what little one can to increase the general stock of knowledge is as respectable an object of life, as one can in any likelihood pursue"

Its not hard to see why I'm so excited about science, and what a scientific worldview offers people.