Author: Earnest Hart

Philosophy Through the Ages

What would happen if any philosophy was taught on a platform as large as religious philosophy, would this be a good thing?

Here in the United States, our philosophical sphere is in limbo. Not too long ago churches held a lot of control over what people thought and felt about the world. However, as time moves on people seem to be pulling away from the religious ways of their lineage, and this could lead to some very interesting results. I don’t want to make a statement here about whether or not this was a good or bad thing, but I do want to discuss the interesting notion of widely practiced philosophy. 

Although we like to separate religion and philosophy, at the end of the day, religion is just a branch of philosophy. It provides a way to think about the world, and answer it’s greatest questions based on what we observe. When religion is thought about in this way, it paints an interesting picture of how things were in the past, and how they still are in other parts of the world. With philosophy being taught every Sunday to almost every person there were a few really interesting effects on the mind of the masses; widespread standardized thought, lifelong education, and regular mental stimulation.

As people, I think that we have a drive to be similar to one another. There was no better way to relate to your neighbor in the past, than what religion you both practiced. Now of course there are many slight variations between and even inside religions, however many of the structures are the same. With this said, whenever there was a moral dilemma or a crisis of the soul in the past, you could take a pretty good educated guess at how someone would handle it based on their religion. This comes from the fact that religious thought is standardized, and widely distributed. Downsides to this can be found everywhere, but I think most of them boil down to the fact that when people are all thinking in a similar fashion, progress begins to halt. With that said, there is also a lot of comfort to be had with knowing that many people share the same ideas as you. Another benefit is the fact that people can get up to the same page with how another person thinks, just based off of being part of the same school of thought.

Many things from childhood end as we grow up. We leave school, go to live on our own, and join the working world. If you are part of religion however, that is a school that will never change. Much unlike the workplace or starting a family, your rank and duties don’t change much over time. From the moment you are born to the moment that you die you are a servant to your church, and you present for roll call every week. This is made doubly interesting by the fact that each visit is a teaching. We now live in a time where many graduate out of school, never to step foot in a learning environment again. This is a stark contrast to the way life has been for so long, it will be interesting to see what happens as a result of it.

I’ve spoken already of the fact that the church keeps schooling you all the way into old age, but I would also like to speak of how that affects the brain and psyche. The human brain does very well to be stimulated consistently throughout life. Because religion is a philosophy it is always pushing the limits of the mind and shifting how we view the world. This also leads to a powerful counterpoint to what I said earlier, that standardized thought restricts progress. That is, if we are constantly encouraged to think in new ways, this practice will most likely lead to the generation of new and creative thoughts from ourselves.

I wanted to write this just to play with the thought of how religion used to affect us as a philosophy, and how the newer lack of it will affect us going forward. I can’t say whether or not this is a good thing or not. On one hand people are thinking more individually than ever before, not hindered but crowd effects and lifelong indoctrination. On the other hand, people are no longer being stimulated and forced to learn in later adulthood, which could lead to a decline in creative and refreshing ideas. Finally, with that I would like to leave you with a question; What would happen if any philosophy was taught on a platform as large as religious philosophy, would this be a good thing? I do not think religion may be the best way forward in the progression of mankind. As it loses popularity however, it is very important that we look to other schools of thought to provide answers to life’s biggest questions.

Life Through Other’s Eyes

However, I think that it is time we challenged our human-centric views on the world and tried to put ourselves in somebody else’s paws.

I think that it’s fair to say that as a people, we have a rather dominating human-centric view of the world. I mean it makes sense to me, primarily thinking about one’s own species is probably a pretty good way to practice self-preservation. However, I think that it is time we challenged our human-centric views on the world and tried to put ourselves in somebody else’s paws.

I believe a good example to talk about is dogs. What I’ve noticed is that people seem to give dogs a lot of human traits that I really don’t believe to be there. Let’s think about poop for a second. Barring any major change in your genetic code, I would venture to guess that you don’t really enjoy the smell of poop. Many people I have noticed, also assume that dogs shouldn’t either. I have seen some people say that a dog sniffs and eats his own poo because he is stupid, this is clearly not the case. To think this, is taking a very human-centric approach to observation. What is instead most likely happening, is that a dog’s powerful genetic predispositions have not gone down a path that says “poop is bad”. Animal behaviorists call this concept Anthropomorphism, or the personification of nonhuman things.

If we look deeper into a dogs experience, we realize how different the world they are seeing really is. Of course people realize some senses are heightened and others are dulled in dogs, but what many fail to remember is that the things we sense may be interpreted entirely differently by dogs. Some sounds we may find soothing causes them panic, some tastes we hate they can love (like poop). Of course this is just dogs, who are mammals. When we look further away genetically the differences become even more extreme.

Some animals don’t rely on vision to navigate at all, but instead on vibrations in the Earth. Take a moment if you will, to imagine what that existence would be like. How about some ants, who operate almost exclusively on the scents of chemicals left behind by their fellow colonists? When we take a moment to try and imagine these things it is clear to see that even when we are factually aware of the differences that we have, it is so hard to place ourselves in that experience. This just goes to show a piece of the endless puzzle that is living existence.

This is usually the part where I talk about this idea’s societal implications and what kind of good it will do. I am not sure if it would do any good, it might just end up being a fun thing to talk about. However, I hope that maybe if more people think this way then they could appreciate the complexity and true scope of life a bit more. So the next time you see your dog dashing around the yard like a maniac, or an ant carrying a crumb across the floor, just think to yourself, “What does life look and feel like to them?”. I think you may be surprised with the results.

Acceptance in an Ever Changing World

Acceptance is not inherently good or bad, it just is. So while this means sometimes we must dig up uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, it does not mean we have to dwell on them.

In our ever changing world there is nothing more comfortable than the familiar. Routine, nostalgia, and tradition give us a sense of stability, especially in times where life seems to be moving too fast. Familiarity however, goes beyond these things, it also has a powerful effect on our mind. Once we find ourselves with a comfortable thought or idea, it becomes very challenging to let go of it. Although in the short term this gives us great comfort, it could mean catastrophe for our ability to learn and grow. I believe that we have a powerful tool to combat this stagnation, and I believe that tool is acceptance.

Now there are a lot of ways one could define acceptance, the way I will define it here is “The allowance of a thought or idea to exist in the mind without repression or judgement.” There are many thoughts that we have, some good, and some bad. When I say without judgement that isn’t to say the thought itself should not but judged, but that its existence should not be. For instance I may have the thought “I am a bad person, people do not like me.” this thought is inherently negative and I don’t believe it should be given much credence, however, it should also be allowed to exist in the mental space without repression. This allows us to have a wider perspective on our thought process, and be more in tune with our own thinking. From that point of hearing the thought out, I can then decide whether or not it is important to listen to, in this case I decide it isn’t, and let it fade away of its own volition.

I have been practicing acceptance a lot lately, I find it has brought me a lot of peace. For myself, it usually involves emotional acceptance. I find personally I push feelings away, usually with prejudice, as opposed to letting them have their space. So the way I have been practicing is when I notice an emotion, is to simply let it exist, acknowledging its presence and the fact that it is temporary. This technique works for a lot of things besides emotions. Accepting differences in opinions, shameful thoughts or feelings, and events that have occured can bring a powerful change to life. With that said however, there is a large caveat that you must be on the lookout for.

Acceptance is not inherently good or bad, it just is. So while this means sometimes we must dig up uncomfortable thoughts or feelings, it does not mean we have to dwell on them. When first practicing this way of thinking I found myself stuck in a rut many times. I would just keep dwelling on negative events from the past. This is not acceptance, but only the opposite of ignorance. With acceptance it is important to allow things to just exist as they are, then to deal with them in that state.

I spoke earlier of our fast moving world and of comfort. I believe that many times when the world changes around us, we do not accept our new reality. This could be as small as not accepting an outsiders opinion, to something as large as not accepting the death of a loved one. Either way if we do not accept change as it comes then we will never adapt to our new reality, and thus we will never grow. It may be painful, it may be uncomfortable, or maybe even exciting but I believe that acceptance is the way towards exiting our comfort zone and truly growing into wiser people.

Conflict and Words

How we say things is as important as what we are saying.

Conflict is something that I have always found terribly uncomfortable. I would argue that most of the conflicts that we have with one another are unnecessary. These conflicts simply exist because of poor communication. In this case I am defining a conflict as an argument or serious disagreement between two or more people, that may, or may not lead to physical violence. I believe that the majority of conflicts, major or minor, can be avoided by the use of patience and careful word choice.

A prime example of common conflicts are those amongst couples. Next time you hear a couple argue or bicker, listen in on what began it. So often I find that the fight isn’t over anything at all, it was just because of the way something was said. How we say things is as important as what we are saying. There are a thousand ways to express any sentiment. Naturally, some of these ways are going to be better than others.

Let’s think about two ways I could say “I love you” to someone. One way I could say it is, “If I had a list of all of the things I loved, you would always be in the number one spot.” Another way of saying the same thing is, “I love you even more than hamburgers, and those are my second favorite thing!” both sentiments describe a list of things I love, both say the one I love is number one, however one sentiment is clearly more romantic than the other.

So going back to conflict, it seems that so many people present their statements to others from a place of anger. Anger warps what we mean to say a lot of the time, it then only serves to make the other person angry. I believe that it is best to present statements from a place of patience and understanding, that way they can be met with the same in return.

I know that this is much easier said than done. After all it can be a real challenge to stay calm and collected all of the time. That is why the process to become a better communicator is challenging and always ongoing. It is so important to however, that I think it is worth the effort that it takes to learn. There are two basic steps to working towards becoming a better communicator, listening, and then responding in a way you believe your audience will understand the most.

Listening is so essential when it comes to defusing conflict. After all if you don’t listen you probably won’t be able to come up with an appropriate response in the first place. To practice this I would suggest to give yourself little reminders during conversation, ask yourself “am I listening to what they are saying?” It seems like a small thing but can really make a big difference, especially when well practiced.

Responding in a way that your audience will understand most is also a powerful tool to defuse conflict. Imagine a child has taken something from you and is upset that they had to give it back. One could explain to the child that stealing is wrong through abstract concepts and talk of the nature of morality, however I think this would be ineffective. A better way would be to appeal to the emotional side of the child, possibly relate to a time something was taken from them. Every person is different in their own way, so it is important we keep that in mind and know that a way we respond to one person during a time of conflict is not the same way we respond to another.

I hope that as we become more advanced we see less conflict in the world. More importantly than avoiding conflict, is the way that we respond to one another. If we listen more to one another, and tailor our words to who we are speaking with then we will be well on our way to a more peaceful world. Not to mention, a world full of more thoughtful and productive conversation.

Seeking Emotional Balance

A few months ago I began writing a journal. I would write one entry every day after lunch. People had told me that keeping a journal can be wonderfully therapeutic, I had never quite understood why. At first journaling seemed tedious, so much writing just to have a record of an average day.

I began the process in mid December and every day made sure to note two things; How I was feeling that day, and how I thought I would feel the following day.

The first week I found nothing special, it was as I had expected it would be. Following that week however, I caught myself thinking, “I’ve been in a real rut, I’ve felt this way for a while now.” then I realized that I can check my sources. I went back to the journal and read an account of how I was feeling a week before, and sure enough, I saw much more fluctuation in mood than I had expected.

Before journaling I was aware that our moods fluctuate pretty heavily, but I didn’t realize how permanent those moods could actually feel.

As I continued journaling I saw more mounting evidence of this phenomenon. There would be many times where I would predict that I’d stay in a bad mood for a long time and yet it would clear up within a couple of days.

What was interesting is this feeling was not mood dependant, whether the mood was good or bad it always felt more permanent than it was. Now of course this is anecdotal, but I would venture to say that I am not the only one who experiences this.

I believe that this phenomenon has a profound effect on the emotional balance we try to maintain in our lives.

Some people suffer tremendously wondering whether or not they will ever feel happy again in times of great sadness. Some people cling to the happiness they felt before so strongly that they don’t realize it is causing them pain. I’ve been both of these people before, as I feel most people have.

If we could just remember how fluidly our moods flow then we could start to find more stability in ourselves. Gaining this perspective has two components. To begin, one must record where there mood is consistently, daily recording is ideal. Following this, one must also make sure to reflect and truly represent how they are feeling at that given time.

In times of trouble I have found this to be a great help, though not a cure to emotional troubles it definitely helps bring perspective and ease some emotional pain.

Thoughts on the matter? Let’s discuss in the comments.

Children are People Too

I find myself disgusted, almost daily, on the way that children are treated by their caregivers. This is nothing new, will never be fully fixed, and is not exclusive to any one society. Everyone has blame. Unfortunately my knowledge is exclusive to the time I have lived, the things I have read, and the soil that I have stood upon. With that said parts of this maltreatment are in fact frowned upon, beatings and emotional destruction are things the law prohibits and are things that go noticed. What I speak of however, has to do with the daily treatment of children and what we consider “normal methods of parenting”.

Yesterday I decided to go on a walk.  At the end of the trail I came across a piece of art, a sphere one could place messages in to send out into the universe. A child, no older than six or seven, began knocking on the sphere much like one would knock on a door. To my dismay his grandmother began to berate him. She screamed in his face demanding he feel shame, followed by a harsh lesson on what it was to behave around art. But do not be misled, this was much less a lesson than it was an outburst of rage. The mother of the child stood ide until the tirade was over. Following this, an exchange could be heard “Let’s go, we are going home!” “No! No! I don’t want to go home!”. It was a disturbing display.

But what could be done, no laws were broken, if anything, some smile upon this and say that this treatment was proper. This stems from the horrific idea that children are subhuman. I’ve spoken before of Fred Rogers and I believe he had wonderful ideas on the treatment of children. It was he who said that children are no different from adults, with complex emotions and feelings just like everybody else. So I find myself asking constantly, how can anybody get away with treating a child this way?

I implore this ‘care’ giver to treat a grown man this way and see how quickly she gets physically or emotionally demolished, as she should. It would seem because it is so easy to overpower children, those with poor self esteem or inflated egos thrive in having total control over them. They thrive not only because of this ease to overpower but because they have an excuse, “they needed to learn a lesson” they will say.

That is not to say children don’t need to be taught lessons, they do. It is to say, however, that these lessons need to be taught from a place of love and reason, not pain and suffering. Children are not as stupid as many think they are, they learn and adapt, they can make complex connections that we assume only adults can make. So when a child is acting up, do not go so quickly for an attack or an insult, but instead an explanation.

The fact of the matter is that children are not learned in our world yet, not fully at least. How was that child meant to know that sphere was a piece of art? Or even what it means to be art? Not only is it to the detriment of the child in the short-term but could also cause devastating long-term effects. I can assure you that the lesson this child took away was not, “I should not meddle with art” but was instead “I will do things and sometimes that will cause me pain, I will never know until the deed is already done.”

On that same walk I encountered another family whose child was wandering and playing off of the trail, when asked to return he inquired “why?” to which his parent responded angrily “because I said so!” The grandmother decided to chime in as well “And that should be enough!” Have these people forgotten what it is to be a child? It seems that there is this assumption from adults that they had never acted this way before, that they were different, but I can assure you this is not so. Kids have always been crazy, kids have always refused to listen, so it goes that parents should be ready to handle those actions. But that just doesn’t seem to be the case. Going back to my experience, the family continued their dialogue back and forth resulting in the child receiving no answers and the parents just getting frustrated. I realized that if they had just explained their reasoning in a way the child could understand and relate, then not only would it be a learning experience, but they would have resolved the issue more quickly!

Which brings me to my final point, it just seems that these parents don’t like their children at all. Sure they love them in the biological sense, but they seem only to want to protect them from harm, not to befriend and adore them as people. I think the mentality is that children are subhuman, there is no way you can be friends with someone like that. So the answer is quite simple. If you do not like kids, or have little patience with them, do not fucking have kids.

If you decide to have kids and don’t want to put in the effort to teach them, care for them, and spend time with them, then you are a blemish on this Earth. Not only are you hurting yourself, but also your child, and you are damaging the society in which that child grows into. Once a child grows up and knows only the ways in which you raised a child, then they as well will most likely perpetuate that cycle of poor parenting.

It’s a hard cycle to break as well. I would never suggest it be illegal to have these outbursts, that’s why this is such a hard problem to solve. You never know if that parent got 2 hours of sleep and was fired yesterday or if they are a chronic piece of garbage, so it’s impossible to tell the quality of their parenting. This is why I say that it’s not exclusive to here or now, it is a cycle that has been ongoing since the start of parenthood itself.

So here is what can be done. If you find that you were raised in a way that caused you pain and fear, notice it, harness it, and make sure to never treat your children that way. Attempt to teach others the right way to treat children, and make sure to treat children correctly yourself. These people get off by getting away with being a tyrant, let them feel shame. Show them that treating your child right can raise a wonderful human being, tell them how you did it. One day if enough people treat their children with the care, patience, and respect that they deserve, then the cowards and bastards who treat their children wrong may just be ashamed enough to change their ways.

The Natural Unnatural

Modern life is a fascinating blend of culture, technology, and evolution. What I find most interesting of all is how our evolved traits fluidly mix with other aspects of life. After all we are animals, we followed the same process to get to this point as any other animal did to get where they were. The kicker of all of this is that many people consider themselves different from animals, and therefore would not like to think of themselves as such. My favorite example of this is with sex.

There are two aspects of sex, the act itself and the courtship ritual leading up to it. Our courtship rituals are strange, very strange. We go on dates (usually multiple) before deciding if someone is a suitable mate, we use modern technology like phones to find suitable mates, and we follow societal rules in order to determine the best move to ensure intercourse. Evolutionarily, we like sex, quite a bit in fact. So like any other animal we strive to look for mates, but it is things like phones and rules and dates that modify the natural equation. The blend of natural and “unnatural” here is so fluid it is difficult to see that it is even animalistic at all.

I am reluctant to use the word “unnatural” in regards to human behavior because again I think this language is used to undermine the fact of what we are. Whatever humans do is natural, because by definition we are part of nature. To showcase this try using more biological terms when speaking about aspects of daily life. When we use words like “mating” for sex and “feeding” for eating the facade of our disconnection is apparent.

Many industries acknowledge this fact and use it to their advantage. There are colors humans are naturally drawn to, designs that we love seeing, and tastes that we crave. By using this knowledge they can create the products that can reach the most people, because almost all people will share these genetic similarities. This is the reason everyone likes the taste of sweetness, why art is so universal, and why sex is so widely participated in.

These thoughts can be daunting, if one thinks all of their life that they are not an animal then this new mindset could be very jarring, however there is an upside. When we are aware of some of the inclinations and wants of others then we can find new solutions to problems. By knowing that we are naturally inclined to consume sugar even at cost to our health, steps can be taken to create incentives away from that. In our own lives we can think on the social needs of primates and find better ways to communicate and participate in activities with those we are close with.

The way to find this knowledge is to take the barriers down that we have built to disguise our true nature (quite literally in this case) and observe the ways of modern life. We can analyze eating habits, sexual acts, crime and a myriad of other things to see some of the natural inclinations we as people have. Once we have this then we can put it to work to create a happier and more efficient society. We must first accept our nature and limitations, before we can truly build a great society around them.

Conscious Reflection

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It had to have been around mid spring, I left a routine therapy appointment and just kept staring up at the treetops lining my way home, immersed in thought. Throughout the course of the session, I tried to recount the parts of my life that brought me the most joy. As I thought about this I realized that there were things I loved doing, such as writing and playing music, yet I never made any time for them. I wondered to myself “Why? Why have I not been seeking out the things that I enjoy?”. I soon realized that most of the time I am not putting active thought into improving my life, but instead am sitting idle and letting life pass me by. It was then, on that walk back home from the therapist that the importance of self reflection really hit me.

Around two years ago I became dead set on becoming a clinical psychiatrist. Following that decision I began constructing a plan on how to get there, I laid out all the steps early on and stayed true to them for quite some time. Plans change. It is not in the nature of life to be predictable, there are always obstacles that go unaccounted for. It is when we come to face these obstacles that self reflection is most important.

I should probably clarify what I mean by self reflection. I use this term to say “Using full concentration to look into oneself in order to discover personal motivations and to answer questions that could not have be answered with simple or casual thought.” I find myself reflecting on life constantly, but what is interesting is that much of this time spent reflecting is not done consciously. Most of the time I find myself really digging deep is when I’m listening to a powerful song, or when I’m out taking a walk. These times of effortless deep thought are vital to mental health, and to making important life decisions, however they are not what I really want to focus on here. Instead, I want to focus on the deep thought conjured up by conscious effort and determination.

We are the sculptors our our own lives, and much like nature itself, our lives are very fluid. If we have the will, and the resources, we can mold our lives into any shape that we find fitting. It’s a tragedy when one decides that they will be complacent to the ebb and flow of life, they will let their life be molded for them in any way that life takes them. I allowed my life to be molded for me for a long time. I created my plan of action and made no effort to change it, no effort to account for the slings and arrows of life.

What a wake up call it was that day walking out of my therapists office realizing that during all that time I was making no effort to fight my depression at all. It had never dawned on me that the plan I had set for myself was not concrete and that I could actually revise it to account for my own mental health. If I had taken the time to sit, to think, and to open myself up to new possibilities not only would I have been less depressed in that time, but I would have achieved my goal more efficiently as well.

I think reflection is great for mental health but it’s also great in terms of productivity. Life becomes a lot easier if one sits down to ask, “Are there things that bother me? Can those things be fixed?”. In my car the rear-view mirror began chipping away, and although functional, it drove me fuckin’ mad. To end my insanity I just had to buy a replacement online. I did a twenty minute installation and voula, my driving experience improved tenfold. This is a minor example, but it shows that there are so many things in life that cause such minor annoyances, and we never realize that there’s a fix until we really sit down and take the time to think about it.

The beginning of the day is the hardest time for me. Depression seems to thrive the more one has to think about the future, for me that’s thinking about the day ahead. I fight this, however, with some effortful thought. I think on what I would enjoy the most that day and how I can get it. I reflect on times that were good and remind myself that times can be good again. As I dig deeper into myself I come to understand ways to improve my life, and through those improvements life becomes a little more bearable. What I’m saying here is, sculpt your life, all it takes is a little time and a wish to move forward. After you’ve done this, sit back and take a look at your sculpture again, you just may find it looks a little bit better.

Connection On a Whim

There are so many people  in the world, and with all of these people comes many stories and so much potential for interaction. Every day I walk around and wonder to myself whether or not this person will ever be a part of my life, or if I’ll ever cross paths with that person again. We are a culmination of all the things that have led up to any single moment, in that regard we are all so unique. This variety of people leads me to believe that all relationships are rare and individual in their own right.

I have experienced this in my own life. There was a girl in my life whom I said hi to in passing almost daily, all I knew was her name, after a little while this stopped and she faded from my life. One day however, our paths crossed again and this time we were forced to interact on a deeper level. As time progressed so did our relationship, until one day I realized she was one of the biggest parts of my life. I see this kind of thing all of the time. Most people meet on a whim, almost always through luck, and forget how they got there.

I spoke before of our complexities, and the tremendous amount of combinations our complex personalities could make when combined with one another. Now just reflect on this, and imagine all of the people you encounter throughout the day. It is unimaginable the possibilities that lie ahead with every interaction that we make. Thinking this way can make you go a little crazy, because really there is so much missed opportunity, and the worst of it is that we will never know what we have never had. Not all is loom and gloom however, because sometimes we don’t miss our opportunity, sometimes we find people that we work well with.

It is important to let this sit in the back of your mind, to keep it as a reference whenever we are with others. Once we recognize the fact that there is so much missed potential, then we can work towards minimizing that loss. I am guilty of it, especially lately, of not trying very hard to truly connect with others, and to connect with new people. It can be hard sometimes to go out of your way to speak with others, to try and form true connections. There are also those who are content, those who do not think it necessary to try and form these new relationships.

At the end of the day we are still primates, we crave social interaction on our most basic of levels and I think it’s important that we maximize the quality of that interaction. Even if one feels like they are content, or it is not worth the effort, this really is one of the most fundamental aspects of a human life. What a shame it would be to just accept things the way that they are, and never look to see if it can ever be any better. From now on I am going to try harder to get out there, to get as much potential out of the relationships that I keep, or look to keep. I encourage all to do the same, and hope that one day we all find those that can help us live a fuller life.

Power in Modern Society

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Not so long ago in our society the church was the state and religion reigned over almost every aspect of life. Government policies were centered around information that the church provided, that was the fact of the time. I have always thought that those times had passed, that governments are now operating outside of religion, but maybe they aren’t. Religion is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “ a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith”, I find this significant because it does not mention gods or the supernatural. What I’m proposing here is that we have a new religion, one in which we put all of our faith in, and that is science.

I live my life by the information that science provides me, the biggest aspects being health, social interactions, and what I fear. For instance I don’t smoke cigarettes, I don’t because science has told me that it is terrible for my health and that addiction is something to fear. The more I think about it the more I realize the extent to which we live under the influence of science. Major government policies are determined based on statistics provided by researchers, our food is deemed fit or unfit to eat by those who study it, and our conversations are guided by the latest things that we learn and hear from the scientific community.

I would not like to be mistaken however, I don’t think that this is a negative thing, quite the opposite actually. We once determined the way that we lived based on faith and instructions from the church, now we live based on information that can be fact checked and verified.

It is an interesting thing the way the power structure has shifted especially recently. For many thousands of years religion was the main determinant of what life in a society was like, it has only been in the last four hundred years or so that this change has happened. With all that being said I don’t think it is all good, as nothing really is. There is an innate problem with power structures and that is they can be used for selfish purposes.

Science has been used for foul things before, we’ve done some horrific things to one another using the excuse of scientific knowledge to justify it. A perfect example of such a thing were experiments on POWs in World War two. Another major problem is the ability to fabricate science. With society having such a faith in science a fabrication of information can lead to a major disruption of progress. One instance of this was the study indicating that vaccinations can lead to the development of autism. Because of this study there are now thousands of people not vaccinating their children, causing some to die.

I think it’s very important to think about science this way, to look at it as a power structure and not just a subject or a method. It’s important because we must always be questioning power structures, making certain that we are minimising their abuse. When I say this I do not mean you should question gravity, or whether or not the Earth is flat. I mean to say that we should question those who use the institution of science as an excuse to continue malicious behaviors, or those who fabricate facts to push their own agenda. Once we do this, then we will be on the road to progressing as quickly as we can with the power and utility of science.