Реферат: The Truth About Physics And Religion Essay
defined as ?the belief in something, with strong conviction and confidence.?
What many fail to realize, however, is that faith is just as essential an
element of physics as it is of religion. The reason why many fail to realize
this, is because of the common misconception that physics is a self-regulating
machine which automatically produces information when the crank of scientific
method is turned. Very little faith would be required, of course, for the
operation of such a machine. But physics, as many of us have experienced
through experiments, is not at all like that. The experimenter usually finds
nothing resembling the smooth, ordered, lawful behavior depicted by the
textbooks. What he finds instead are error-filled and highly questionable
results. William Pollard, a physicist, once wrote:
Scientific research is a tough and unrelenting business.
Only those who enjoy a firm and unshakable faith that
the universal principles will always hold true can
become successful. Without such an abiding faith, it is
simply not possible to become a part of the physics
community.
Consider. for example, this common claim: ?anyone can demonstrate the truths of
physics for himself, but the tenets of religion have to be accepted blindly on
faith.? How many people, for example, can demonstrate to their own satisfaction
that the mass of the earth is 5.98 x 1024 kilograms, or that the charge on a
proton is + 1.60 x 10-19 coulombs. A long, hard educational process is required
during which a person must freely submit himself to a rigorous discipline, and
strongly desire and believe in its outcome. Consequently, the truth follows
that only by becoming a physicist can he possess the capacity to demonstrate the
truths of physics to his own satisfaction. Likewise, only those who become
serious followers of a religion can know the truths of that religion. In both
cases, everyone else must take it all on faith.
Another way in which science and religion are frequently contrasted is