Preview

Chemistry Boon or Bane

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1845 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Chemistry Boon or Bane
The pursuit of knowledge carried on by scientists for the past several centuries has produced results over which opinion is sharply divided. Science, originally intended to conquer and harness the forces of nature for the good of man, is looked upon by some as the chief cause of the suffering of humanity today. On’the other hand, there are a good many people who consider science to be the harbinger of all progress, prosperity and comfort. The contro¬versy has been raging for a long time, though science goes on taking long strides .obviously regardless of the conflicting opinions pro¬nounced on its achievements.
Leaders of thought, be they scientists or not, however, occasi¬onally pause and ponder whether science is going the right way and really promoting human welfare. A dispassionate and comprehen¬sive survey of the fruits of scientific advance in the various spheres of human life provides sufficient ground to be sceptical about the claim that science is an unqualified and unmixed blessing to huma¬nity. They have reason to conclude that all is not well with science and its application.
Pure science is a relentless search for truth, for the discovery of the laws of nature. As such, no fault finding is possible with pure scientific research. The position, however, changes materially in regard to the application of scientific research in the field of practi¬cal activity. Science is like a sharp sword which can be used for either defending yourself against the enemy or cutting your own throat. What the pure scientist gives to his fellow-beings may thus be turned to their advantage, or exploited for subversive and des¬tructive purposes. The application of science, therefore, depends upon the just or unjust aims man has in view, and the history of the world shows that the application of science has not always been governed by principles of justice and consideration of the generanl good of the people.
The 19th century witnessed the invention of steam loco motives, oil

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Knowledge, the key to progress, has proven to be a human being’s most powerful and significant weapon. We gain knowledge when we put our brain to work at the problems we need to solve in life. It doesn’t matter what we are trying to accomplish, whether it be creating a new technology or learning how to put together a puzzle, the matter of fact is that both request great examination and research to resolve and learn. Scientific research is a technique used to investigate phenomena, correct previous understanding, and acquire new knowledge. Knowledge could lead us to a possible cure for cancer, an alternative for fossil fuels, and the creation of a revolutionary technology. Nevertheless, all these benefits are a reason why John M. Barry writes about scientific research with admiration, curiosity, and passion in which he blends a use of rhetorical strategies in order to give off an overall perspective of the necessity and mystery within scientific research.…

    • 849 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Imagine life as we know it without science. This may be hard to do, considering that scientific technology is now a perpetual symbol of modern-day life. Everything we see, everything we touch, and everything we ingest—all conceived of scientific research. But how did it come to be this way? Was it not only centuries ago that science began to surpass the authority of the church? Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, natural philosophers, now known as scientists, founded a new world view on science, which was previously based on the Bible and classic philosophers like Aristotle and Ptolemy. Both people connected their natural studies directly to God and the Bible, creating ideas like a geocentric earth. With time and new ideas, scientists managed to develope methods for creating and discovering things in nature, and with enough resources and patronage, were able to answer asked and unasked questions. Science, however, was not supported by everyone, and had to face many challenges to achieve the power it maintains in today’s world. Due to the strong authority that politics, religion, and common social order controlled in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, science was subjectively held in the hands of those who could utilize it or reject it.…

    • 1531 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Good morning young ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to what will be an exciting year for you all and I also commend all of you for choosing science as your undergraduate subject for this year. I am Professor John and today I will be discussing with you the importance of choices. More specifically, the role of science and the ones who control its power. This, ladies and gentleman, relates directly to all of you, the future generation of people in the scientific field. The knowledge of science, I believe, is the most powerful asset anyone can hold. This is because, one who has knowledge that could potentially change…

    • 1299 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    “As science is more and more subject to grave misuse as well as to use for human benefit…

    • 235 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Science contributes moral as well as material blessings to the world. Its great moral contribution is objective, or the scientific point of view. The means doubting everything except facts; it means hewing to the facts, lets the chips fall where they may.” (163)…

    • 506 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ap World History Dbq

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Science has made many leaps forward throughout the centuries, bringing the world advancements it has never imagined. People may argue the negatives and positives of science these days and centuries ago it was no different. During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the works and findings of scientists were greatly influenced by the approval of political figures due to their desire for power and monetary gain, the support and understanding received by influential religious personages and the downfalls of society regarding disorganization of research and a preset view of gender roles.…

    • 1209 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The Scientific Revolution was an important time in history, but it was by no means sudden. The catalyst of the Revolution were a while in the making with writings and philosophies from Ancient Greece and Rome inspiring people and was a long process of gradual of upheaval, up until the Enlightenment. This essay will examine the various, but not inexhaustible, causes that may have contributed to the Scientific Revolution; the teaching and philosophies of Aristotle, Ptolemy and Descartes, The Renaissance, Humanism, the decay of the Catholic Church, the influential theories of Copernicus and Kepler followed by the idea of Scientism. To finish, the essay will discuss some of the consequences brought about by the Scientific Revolution; the Protestant Reformation, the Counter Reformation, the French Revolution, Scientism, Feminism and, finally, the Enlightenment.…

    • 1622 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Science is the driving force behind the growth of the human race. Without science our community would have stagnated completely. There would be no form of technology or even a basic understanding of how the human body works. While science is a vital source to human progression, a question arises; can science negatively impact the human race if its limits are pushed too far? Mary Shelley’s anti-Enlightenment book Frankenstein, paints a vivid picture of what may happen if science is pushed too far.…

    • 547 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout history science and technology have had big impacts in society. In the 18th and 19th centuries Hawthorne, Von Schiller, and Poe saw the terrible things that science can do to society, thus, they decided to write a warning. In “Sonnet-To Science” and “The Birthmark” Poe and Hawthorne state that perfection is something that scientist seek for although it is something unachievable. In “To Astronomers” and “The Birthmark” Von Schiller and Hawthorne illustrate how scientists have an obsession with success which makes some of their scientific discoveries unreliable. They also illustrate how science was taking the beauty out of nature,…

    • 1227 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Since the beginning of time, science has never failed to alter our beliefs. From finding out that our planet is round, to sending the first person to the moon, we continue to grow a better understanding about the world around us. Many organizations such as NASA have helped to shape our perception today. But, It was years before that scientists helped to build NASA’s views and fundamental understandings of anatomy, and astronomy. The Renaissance helped to change people's views of the earth surrounding us.…

    • 519 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Causal

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Science has helped improve many people’s lifestyle from eating a healthy diet to stopping different form of disease that are attacking the human body. Science also provides intolerable lifestyle to people such as the elders as when the elderly have an incurable disease and the elderly are suffering for this incurable disease and wants to die, but cannot due to science advancement in technology making impossible to die at that moment. The possible future of science is uncontrollable. The power of science provides possibility and with this possibility doesn’t always generate a good possibility. Jeremy Rifkin in "Biotech Century" and Michael Bishop in "Enemies of Promise" talks about the science as their argument in a casual sense of manner. The fear of the unknowingness of what science can provided for future can be argued in a causal manner with Rifkin and Bishop.…

    • 1200 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    “Science is the pursuit and application of knowledge and understanding of the natural and social world following a systematic methodology based on evidence” - The science council (2010)…

    • 2087 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Educational Influences

    • 3718 Words
    • 15 Pages

    Science is present in almost every aspect of today’s world. It is part of our daily lives, from cooking and gardening, to recycling and comprehending the daily weather report, to reading a map and using a computer. Civilization and all of life itself is defined by advancements. Advancements don't happen without scientists. These advances in technology and science are transforming our world at an incredible pace, and our children’s future will surely be filled with leaps in technology we can only begin imagine. Being “science literate” will no longer be just an advantage but an absolute necessity. We can’t escape from the significance of science in our world (Atkinson, N. 2009).…

    • 3718 Words
    • 15 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Environment Education

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages

    There have been tremendous changes in the life style of human beings which may be attributed to the contribution of science and technology, science has extended the frontiers of our knowledge in various ways and directions. Science is considered to be a blessing to mankind.…

    • 2253 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Although science has changed the face of the world, and has, of course, given many things that benefits man. But the evils that it has showered on man wash away the advantages. It has made man depend on machines, calculators and computers. A day may come when his physical and mental faculties may grow so weak that he may not be able to lift a bag or solve…

    • 490 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics