Science explains "how", religion explains "why", right? That's what I was told every year in religion class during high school. That's how many religious people justify the glaring inconsistencies between science and religion. There is no denying that science is explaining more and more that we used to rely on religion for. For example, why does it rain? God is angry and wants to flood the crops! Well, no actually - water evaporates, condenses, and then precipitates. "But that explains 'how' it rains, not why! It rains because God knows we need water for the plants!" would be the typical religious response. But no, this age old justification is wrong - much like everything else they tell you about religion. Today I had my first class at the University of Illinois - Chemistry. And what my Chem teacher had to say was extremely enlightening and I made the connection to this justification i've always heard. We went over the basic difference between a Scientific Law and a Scientific Theory. He defined a law as something that explains the natural world - something that has been observed through experiments over and over and we know it to be true; it explains the how - how things work. e.g. We know "how" mass converts to energy with the equation E=mc^2 A Scientific Theory on the other hand explains "why". e.g. Why did primates become bipedal? Looking at the Theory of Evolution we can notice that it was obviously advantageous for them to do so. If you only use 2 of your limbs for moving, that leaves you another pair to use tools! That is WHY we are bipedal - because it was advantageous. Why humans become the rulers of the earth? Use of tools developed the brain more and more. Smart + tools = greater chance of survival and thus humans lived on, according to natural selection. Religion does not explain why, it only aspires to. Well not really, they don't even put forth an effort. They just say look at this book and this is why everything is. If you ask too tough a question the answer is just something relating to how God is great and knows everything and humans don't. Fuck that bullshit. Don't buy into it.
Religion teaches only doctrines that could possibly allow for a better life, but ultimately cannot result in ascencion. Why are we alive? Why everything? Because it is. Religion teaches nothing of this. Organized religion is ultimately a highly limiting entity, and today has become a plague on our race in the large scheme.
Can there be a "why" if there is no God? Natural selection shows us why adaptations occur so a species can survive... but why does a species "want" to survive?
I think the problem is that people don't understand evolution enough to truly grasp what it is explaining. Primates didn't become bipedal because it was better for them. They didn't want to become bipedal. A genetic mutation occured and it was beneficial. That genetic mutation allowed whichever particular primate to be a better primate. He lived longer, he reproduced more, and he was able to pass on that genetic mutation which allowed his progeny to be better as well. Tools? It has nothing to do with tools, it has to do with intelligence. Humans that were intelligent enough to use tools were smarter than the others. The smarter, the better the tools could be crafted and implemented. When food became scarce and tools were necessary find food and live and reproduce, the more intelligent men thrived and the stupid ones didn't live long enough to reproduce. Evolution isn't some magical, "let me change now," force. It is simply a difference in an organism's genetic code that made it more fit for survival. I would post more, and will post more, perhaps even another thread about the evolution of man later. Right now, McDonald's is calling... Mmmm, Big Mac!
Why does the theory of relativity hold? The faster one's thoughts move, the slower time goes. There exists another plane of existence in which our thoughts are manifested which allows for such to occur. People simply just haven't done a good enough job explaining the why's. I can if you ask me. Everything makes sense logically.
I disagree. So then it does have to do with tools. The opening scene of 2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the greatest in art to depict the human "spirit" - growing smarter to have a better security of survival.
Because the ones that don't actually do die and then they aren't present to pass on their genetic code - they're self-rejecting and thus selecting the others hah.
i never heard religione xplain why it rains or why monkeys stand on 2 legs the only thing religion has ever tried to explain is the nature of man and his psyche, something that science cant really prove cuz humans dont always act definitely. but i'm not a christian and i know the bible is a rip off of other ancient religions, so i dont pay much attention to anything the bible says, its been manipulated to control the masses and as far as evolution explaining why?? there was a type of moose in ireland i believe that went extinct because its antlers became soo massive that it interfered with their ability to survive, the antlers became soo large because the females were attracted to the larger antlers and at first it made the moose more able to reproduce evolution can kill you off too ya know, humans are a great example, we came up with cars and factories n shit, but now its fuckin the earth up which in turn is gonna fuck us up. also the invention of nuclear weapons could potentially wipe us all off the face of the planet, and these are results of evolution in intelligence
Tools are just the media through which man's intelligence shines. Tools weren't the initiator of the human evolution, the need to outsmart man's opponents was. The same thing it has always been, he who can survive better will reproduce more and pass on his genetic code. Natural selection.
religion, through out most of time, was/ is law. thats one reason it's thrived. also, many religious books, such as the bible, torah, and koran, have teachings that appeal to the time period in which they were written, and are often meant to be symbolic and interpretated. however going through catholic school myself, i find many annoyances and inconsistancies with religion
i find inconsistancies with science. every 20 years we have different beliefs about shit. but the bible for instance stays the same.(i know theres arguments about that, but for the most part the king james version is consistant with hebrew scriptures)
Why does anything die in the first place? If the "mutation" or change isn't a lucid decision made by the living being, then who or what does make the decision as to what will change? Science should be able to cover this one; how is it possible for unconscious matter to become conscious matter?
If you say so.. Energy is infinite and cannot be created or destroyed... then why do things "die?" Evolution is no explanation for the origin of life but rather how life behaves after a certain point.
Energy doesn't stop when you die. Sure it stops going through you at some point (much later after you've died - you don't have to be alive to be a part of energy e.g. you can be dead and you still have potential energy at points in space relative to other points). Life is only self-consciousness and it is limited to a specific amount of time. The thing to question is if lifespan remains the same even when you warp time to make it slow or speed up... I would think it would remain the same though. The after-life is the same thing as the before-life - you aren't conscious to perceive it, but it does go on. Your consciousness is completely insignificant. Not necessarily life, but rather it explains how matter behaves.
so from the big bang till now everything was just plain dumb luck that we came to be what we are? where is the origin of the universe? science dictates that something comes from something cause you cannot get something from nothing. where did it all start from? the start of existence....
I dislike the idea that everything was dumb luck. Science says nothing of the sort. Nature is nature and it does what it does because it is natural. No invisible being in the clouds needs to be around in order to make sure something is not a product of dumb luck.