How Societal Pressures Effect Scientific Discoveries

Could you ever separate what society wants from the scientific discoveries we have made? The answer is no. All scientific discoveries, from gravity to putting a man on the moon, have been moved forwards by society. However, there is a dark side to this pressure from the people. Societal pressures both help and hinder the scientific discoveries we make.

Organisations provide one thing that scientific discoveries cannot be made without: money.However, this is donated only to the research which the corporations are behind. This both helps and hinders, helping research for things that many people are behind, such as cures and better treatments for cancer and other widespread diseases, and new ‘green’ technology, though it hinders discoveries that not so relevant to people at the moment. I myself, when reading an article about research done by scientists regarding the beginning of human generosity,wondered why they were curious about such things and why they bothered putting money into it when there is so much else that could be researched.

                Nuclear war is much feared in the world, and so after the discovery of how build nuclear bombs by America and several other countries, the method and research was kept from other countries which are not that far along. Since scientists often depend upon and build off of the research of other scientists, these countries are being hindered in their discoveries by the political and societal desire of countries like the United States to not have a nuclear war somewhere in the future.

Religious beliefs, political ideologies as well as human ethics are hindering parts of the field of stem cell research. Very much could be discovered about stem cells and treatments for cancer, Parkinson’s disease and much more could be developed, however, there is currently much controversy concerning embryonic stem cell research. These cells can become any other type of cell and therefore could be a huge advance in treatments. In order for any research to be done though, it would require the creation, treatment and destruction of human embryos. This is a huge problem, but because of the hindrance scientists are being pushed to discover ways to collect these cells without harming the embryo, and actually are beginning to find them. 

In conclusion,societal pressures both help and hinder scientific discoveries. Without them,there would be no funding for research, though the research in that case is selected by the people who donate. The discovery of the atomic bomb by other countries has been hindered by political desire to keep such a destructive weapon from being at the hands of potential enemies. Research regarding embryonic stem cells has been much hindered, but thanks to the pressure of ethics, there are safe ways to get stem cells from embryos being discovered.Despite the hindrances, societal pressures also push forwards scientific discoveries.

Can the Beliefs of Religion and Science Coexist Peacefully?

For decades it has been debated on a worldwide scale which is correct: science, or religion? There are people in between, people who are sided strongly with science, and those sided strongly with religion. However, they can coexist peacefully. We are programmed to solve things scientifically, the stories of religion and science do not strictly disagree, and one of the most debated topics of their differences actually works together perfectly.

Science is less of a belief and more of a method with which people discover things about the world around them. As people, we use the scientific method to solve problems whether we know it or not, coming to a problem and thinking of possible ways to overcome it or explain it, doing research, performing experiments and analyzing what we have discovered.  This is ingrained into our brains, which according to religion are created by a god. We have been created to solve problems and explain things scientifically, and if we have been created by gods, they have made us to use science.

            Stories told by religions about how the world came to be, and about why things are the way they are, are often interoperated figuratively. Science is all facts, and interoperated as such, since there is no possible other way to take what scientists have proven to be true. Religious texts do not disagree with science in that aspect, nor does science disagree with religion, because religion can be interoperated in any manner an individual wishes.

All religions have a story of how the world and the universe were created. Science tells the same story, proven through fact, of the Big Bang, how the universe expanded and became larger. However, before the Big Bang, scientists have no idea, and no way to find out, how this dense ball of energy that became the universe got there. This is where the idea of a God comes in. In essence, the theory of creation of the bible -and of others religions as well- and the Big Bang Theory do not disagree, since scientists have no idea how the dense state came to exist.

In conclusion, science and religion can coexist peacefully. We are preprogrammed to solve problems through science from birth through the scientific method, and so, why should the ideas we discover through our god-given gift not exist with religion peacefully? Where science is fact, religion is interoperated differently by all people, and therefore do not even disagree, and the long debated story of creation fits together well with the Big Bang Theory. While they have differences, science and religion can coexist peacefully together.

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