Science and Progress

By Jose Mari BFU Tirol

(The author is the dean of the College of Law of the University of San Agustin)

“Science” is commonly understood to refer to chemistry, physics, biology, medicine, engineering, and other activities that involve persons in white lab coats using instruments to experiment on fluids, solids, and gases (all bodily and otherwise).

But like “doctor” which has medical as well as academic applications, the actual scope of “science” is also more encompassing: it is the study of, and/or the body of knowledge on a particular subject. Thus, we have the physical sciences on the laws of nature, computer science, the social sciences, and even “military science”. On a personal note, I have presented papers in international scientific conferences where all the participants are members of the legal academia from various countries who gather to study and share ideas about legal issues of common concern.

Science seeks to discover the truth and to expand the scope of human knowledge, for the purpose of improving the human condition. Through logic and common sense, and the employment of procedures, processes, and methods which are – for lack of a better term – scientific. This search for knowledge and the truth is a shared endeavor of all scientists, who have the professional, ethical, and social obligation to collaborate with each other to attain this goal.

There are times, however, when a multidisciplinary approach results in disastrous consequences. As illustrated by Nazi Germany, the US military-industrial complex, and by present-day China.

Indeed, science – in all its forms – must not be used for political purposes. Especially when confronting a problem which mainly involves the application of the physical sciences, but must also take human behavior and psychology into account.

The search for the solution/s to Covid-19 should not be left in the hands of political pseudoscientists. Instead of working for the public welfare, they exploit the fears and prejudices of the populace and prescribe grossly questionable cure-alls such as dolomite for mental health, washing facemasks with gasoline, unregulated self-medication with ivermectin, and vaccine cocktails. These populists exhibit a glaring incapacity to understand the problem and how to address it. They turn us into lab rats, running in circles, chasing our tails.

Nobody said it was easy, but it won’t be a shame for us to part with them.

While the search for truth is not a popularity contest, the search for certain solutions is sometimes a mixture of both. For example, it is our obligation to search discover the people who are worthy of our trust and are qualified to lead us. To promote them, and to ensure their victory – our victory – in May 2022.