Of Astronomical Significance

thecatholicthing.org

3 pointscicero1 comment

It may seem a stretch to connect this will to power with the “illness” of scientific materialism, but I wonder. At the beginning of modern science, we bracketed purpose and meaning in order to see more clearly the workings of the impersonal parts of nature. And to gain power over the world “for the relief of man’s estate.” (Francis Bacon)

I’m an old physics student – still follow scientific developments (and like everyone am amazed by technology) – but over the years I’ve come to believe that there’s a devil’s bargain in several of the ways this has played out. Like Macbeth, many of us have moved from seeking power for human purposes to thinking that our subsequent knowledge reveals that there is no real purpose in the world.

I believe our world today is paying the price for the belief that there is no real meaning or purpose in the universe. That's why I'm interested in the ways we can find meaning, whether that is through philosophy or religion, and in reexamining why we came to believe there is no meaning in the first place.

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