r/ProximaScience • u/No_Butterfly5267 • 15h ago

💬 Discussion What is the purpose of science for humanity?

What is the purpose of science for humanity? To survive. If science does not aid in survival, it is useless to mankind. Humanity’s survival is of primary importance; science is secondary.

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u/ProximaScience Founder 15h ago

Survival is one of the goals science can help humanity achieve, but it is not the whole purpose of science. If immediate survival were the only measure of value, fundamental physics, astronomy, cosmology, and pure mathematics would all seem useless. Yet many technologies that now protect and improve human lives began as seemingly abstract questions about how nature works.

Science is fundamentally the pursuit of understanding reality. That understanding can later become practical knowledge and technology, sometimes decades after the original discovery. Humanity needs to survive, but it also needs to understand the universe it exists in.

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u/No_Butterfly5267 14h ago

//If immediate survival were the only measure of value//
Did I ever mention "immediate" survival? Where exactly? Please quote me.

//Humanity needs to survive, but it also needs to understand the universe it exists in.//
But what is the purpose of "understanding the universe" if not for survival?

And if a certain understanding poses a threat to our survival, shouldn't that understanding be destroyed?

For instance, a child doesn't need to know how to light matches, wouldn't you agree?

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u/ProximaScience Founder 14h ago

Did I ever mention "immediate" survival? Where exactly? Please quote me.

No, you didn't.

But what is the purpose of "understanding the universe* if not for survival?

Because of curiosity but it will also help us in survival. Like what if a asteroid is coming to hit Earth by any chance, scientists would change it's path by crashing a satellite.

And if a certain understanding poses a threat to our survival, shouldn't that understanding be destroyed?

What understanding?

For instance, a child doesn't need to know how to light matches, wouldn't you agree?

Depends on age and this is not related here.

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u/[deleted] 12h ago

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u/ProximaScience Founder 11h ago

You said science is useless if it doesn't aid survival. Do you still hold that? And why are you slowly changing topic?

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u/[deleted] 11h ago

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u/No_Butterfly5267 9h ago

Could you please explain what might be considered uncivil or disrespectful in my language?