Science

Science is everywhere in our everyday life. Advances in science are consistently transforming our world at an incredible pace, and some countries allocate adequate funds on scientific advancements. The main goal for science is to try to explain events that occur in the world.  However, many people tend to ask themselves questions like, can science really explain everything? Is there a phenomenon that science will never be able to explain?

Basically, science is able to explain a lot of phenomenon that happens in the world.  However, there are still a lot of unsolved mysteries that are yet to be explained through science. One of these “unsolved mysteries” includes the origin of life, yet scientists are working hard to solve the problem of the origin of life. Although science play a vital role in explaining various phenomenon, it sometimes contradicts with religious believes. For example, evolutionally scientists believe in evolution of mankind, while other scientists believe in creation and the contribution of a supernatural power to the origin of life. Therefore, in some cases, scientists differ in opinions about various phenomena.  Given the number of successes in modern science, many would think that today’s unexplained phenomena might be explained by science in future.

Does this mean that science can explain everything in life? One side may say that it is impossible to assert that science can explain everything. On the other hand, science changes and develops at fast pace, which means that what cannot be explained today might be explained in future. Thinking logically, science will never be able to explain everything. In order to explain something, basically something else must be invoked to explain the second thing. For example, Newton’s law of gravity is able to explain other things. However, if someone was to switch the question around and ask “why” all bodies exert a gravitational force on each other, the law itself cannot be explained. There will be laws or principles that remain unexplained, since nothing can explain itself. Science itself cannot be ultimately proven by science. Using science to explain science is circular reasoning.

Even though there are things that will never be explained, those unexplained phenomena are unknown. Additionally, there is a phenomenon some philosophers think science will never be able to explain; that phenomenon is consciousness. Can we look and examine the mind as a physical entity? What we experience as human beings consciously can be merely illusions. Explaining consciousness is above the capabilities of science. Experiencing on consciousness is different from other experiences, since consciousness has a subjective aspect. Consider the feeling while watching a horror movie or experiencing the feeling of being in love. Scientists can explain what part of the brain is correlated with what conscious experiences. However, there are no explanations as to why experiences with those subjective feelings are results from the mechanics within the brain.

Maybe one day scientists will be able to answer many scientific questions that are unknown currently. However, as useful and important science is in the world, its explanatory scope is not complete.  Bertrand Russell developed a position when he said: “Whatever knowledge is attainable, must be achievable through scientific techniques, and what science cannot discover, mankind cannot know.”  Science cannot dictate whether this theory is true or not. With this said, science cannot and will not in principle explain the theory behind everything.