The Post Modern Belief of Science

 The main goal of this paper is to analyze and evaluate the four idols as stipulated by Bacon and, using its content, to pass personal judgments upon the truthfulness of the “urban myths” which exist within the society. With these urban myths ,which are also considered as cherished or rather promoted falsehoods, I will move forward to use them as the basis for which my understanding of the same lies. My understanding will focus on separating the truly scientific theories from the common “folk beliefs” or ideologies which deviate from scientism.  The paper aims to classify the phenomena into distinctive sub-groups for the purpose of providing a clear understanding of what is being termed as scientific from the scientism.

There are four idols which have been used to explain the manner in which men as individuals and as part of the society behave. The philosophy behind these behaviors, which men portray, is greatly influenced by these four idols which are the idols of the tribe, cave, market place, and theater.

The idols of the tribe are considered to be based upon the understanding of human nature, tribe or race of men as a whole.  Idols of the cave refer to the understanding which men have upon themselves partly as individuals and as members of a particular society. With this idol, men are portrayed as creatures which act in a unique manner in the surrounding environment, hence the ideology expounds on the notion that men look for in sciences according to the limit of their understanding. In the idol of market place, men are perceived to be social creatures which time-after-time associate with each other for the purpose of conducting trade or other exchange.  In this ideology, men are defined by the choice of words they utter in the place of exchange, meaning that a slight deviation from the use of wise and suitable words results in a misunderstanding and, in some other cases, is viewed as a potential area of conflict. The last type of idol (idol of theater) results from the various inconsistencies within the already laid out philosophies, which in most cases emerge out of demonstrations performed in peculiar manners so that, in the long run, their intended purpose of existence is distorted. This ideology stipulates that the demonstrations may be formulated in different ways so that, in the end, they seem completely different from each other altogether. It is within the jurisdiction of this ideology that many principles, let alone the difference in meanings, in science have received appraisal and appreciation.

It is believed that human beings devise different modes of understanding with the intention that they pre-suppose more than one level of regularity in the world. This means that it is human nature to formulate a phenomenon and link it to something similar even though it is considered unmatchable. For instance, it is beyond doubt that man in this era possesses a supernormal kind of cognition that believes in the existence of aliens visiting the world. And because they have never perceived these creatures, they have taken the initiative to believe in their existence whatsoever. It is for this reason that people, through the use of the idol of theater, have continued to come up with the sci-fi movies to make other people believe in what has already been established for the purpose creating a distorted meaning from the simple notion that the other planet is inhabitable altogether. This phenomenon is explained greatly by the notion that human understanding pays much tribute to opinions which seem either agreeable or plausible, currently and historically.

In the case with sci-fi movies, human beings have perfected the art of distortion in the sense that they have provided further explanations of the appearance of this “mythopoeic” phenomenon. To argue that aliens are the creatures which have been formulated in men’s mind is somehow inconsiderate in the world of scientists. The notion that there exist aliens in this universe is considered the base upon which the sci-fi movies are produced. The production managers for these particular films have understood that laying the entrenched foundation rejecting other forms of the truth is a rather strong pillar for developing the story line. The story commences with the fact that there are supernatural phenomena which interfere with people’s lives. Though they pass to be intangible, refuting their existence is considered as ignorance of the highest degree. The society is then developed upon this particular assumption and the production of movies such as “The Matrix” is established. This film is produced to prove the existence of a phenomenon which exists beyond the man’s understanding and that man has no power over its existence.

The supernatural phenomenon is further expounded when man then decides to explore the origins of this phenomenon and the only way he can do it is by exploring the whole universe and taking trips to different planets to establish the truth of the matter. During his mission, man is obstructed by celestial bodies, which move in circles in the space. This obstruction is perceived as a war created by these particular celestial bodies, hence the name “star wars”. Since man is by no means deterred from establishing the truth, which explains the existence of aliens, he advances to produce a film which supports his belief (scientism) that aliens are creatures that exist despite the fact that it is the ideology of the theater which has made this believable. In this case, it is evident that man is perceived to be a very determined creature who pays much attention to pursuing a phenomenon, that is, until he matches the singular and unmatched elements with parallels and conjugate relatives which do not exist at all. It is a belief of scientism which has been arbitrarily fixed.