Why Science Is Closer To Morality Than Religion
By Amritanshu Pandey
15 March, 2015
Countercurrents.org
India's fundamentalist moral brigade has shifted gears since the advent of Acche Din, and we are subject to daily reports of the moral police's enthusiasm, derived largely from our substantial pool of religion and culture. In this regard India is no different to religious societies around the world, where faith and its institutions provide the basis for our moral compass. If your dominant religion disavows of homosexuality, for example, then it can be guaranteed that your society's outlook will be that homosexuality is immoral.
But philosophical circles have long settled that morality can and should be independent of religion, and its ineptitude in dealing with our moral problems becomes clearer when we look at its history and origin. In its truest, most ancient form, religion is an epistemology- a way for early humanity to make sense of the world around it. This was a time where science did not exist, and we had nothing but superstition and ritual to explain the natural phenomena. From its origin to the present, the story of religion is the story of human observation and the scientific method relentlessly gaining the territory of faith. This makes sense- the more our observational and rational senses developed, the less we had to rely on made up explanations. Astrology was replaced by astronomy, alchemy by chemistry and faith-based healing by medicine- the list can go on. Today we still have people going to astrologers to divine their future, but no scientist goes to them to design a rocket and ensure it reaches escape velocity. The reason why he hold scientists and doctors to an entirely different standard of reliability and precision than we do healers and diviners is because we know what really works and what is, even in the initial analysis, nothing more than BS.
Stripped down to what its believers claim is the essence of religion, we are confronted with some core values that most of us can ascribe to- honesty, equality, freedom, justice and the like. Unless we are sociopathic or psychopathic, we are able to intuitively understand the golden rule- as you sow, so shall you reap. Together, these values form a set that can be said to be intrinsic to most of us. Everything else about morality has been picked up by religion along the way, and we can understand this better when we see that the morality of different religions is drastically different, often even to their own earlier forms. Let us then look at some of the core values that all religions, in their claimed essences, can agree on-
1. Equality- we are ignoring here religion's long history of discrimination and non-egalitarian practices. We are speaking instead of basic statements like 'all humans are equal in the eyes of god' and 'the world is one family.'
2. Reciprocity- by reciprocity we mean the golden principle- as you sow, so shall you reap, or- do unto others as you would have them do unto you. This is NOT the Hindu principle of karma. The law of karma says that the actions you commit in this life will bear consequences upon your next. But the golden principle makes no assumptions about the afterlife. What you sow in this life shall also be reaped in this very life.
3. Universality- whatever rules we live by should apply to all. There cannot be exceptions to these. If all men and women are equal, then no caste-based system is compatible with this value. We cannot have one set of rules for the elite and another for the rest. At its heart, this value is an expression of the deepest sentiment of any child who has siblings. I want my parents to love and treat me exactly as much as they do my brother/sister. Similarly, I want god/the universe to treat me with the same set of rules as it does anyone else. Any hint of partiality is deeply hurtful to me, more profoundly so when that partiality is god's or this universe's.
4. Reliability- whatever contracts we form, whatever agreements that take shape between us, they must be binding and stable. This mandates trust, honesty and reliability. The problems with this value are best represented in the notorious economics' bugbear- the free rider problem. When a resource such as the air is available freely to all, who owns up the responsibility of keeping it clean? And if even one of us pollutes, will the other also not do the same? What incentive is there for me to keep the air clean when everyone else around me ignores this?
It is safe to say that the essence of most religions subscribes to these values, and the rest is often at odds with it. As already mentioned above, a caste-based religion is incompatible with both equality and universality. All major religions fail on these counts even on the basis of their undeniable patriarchy. When most believers look to their religious texts, they engage in an act of pick and chose. They select stories/commandments that align with the core values, and explain away the rest as metaphor or the misplaced product of primitive eras. This is direct proof that the core values stem not from the religious texts but from something inside us. And religion can scarcely be called their fair summation. It must be pointed out here that I talk of moderate, tolerant believers and not of blind followers.
If religion is not the best representation of humanity's core values, then what is? I posit that science, and the products of the scientific method, better reflect our supreme ideals. Let us take them one by one-
1. Equality- all humans are indeed equal in the hands of this universe. Gravity does not discriminate between a Hindu and Muslim, man or woman, nor even between Brahman and Shudra. The nuclear forces at play that bind my body together work on precisely the same rules when they bind yours. Through science we learn that the universe is exactly as egalitarian as we would want it to be. More so, certainly, than religions have proven themselves to be.
2. Reciprocity- Newton's laws of motion certainly represent the universe's reciprocity the best, but we have countless other examples. Symbiosis is an embedded part of nature, and delicate balances exist everywhere from the food chain to the solar system's Goldilocks zone. Violation of these laws of reciprocity have been shown to have damaging consequences. So much of natural selection also works on reciprocity- the act of give and take between species over countless generations. Would there exist a plant with long, hollow stalks if there was not a creature with the appendage to dip into these stalks and suck nutrients from it, or vice versa?
3. Universality- science is as universal as it is egalitarian. My neighbour cannot appease the god of gravity more than I do and gain special favours as a result. My enemies cannot pray to the sun god and acquire better progeny than I do. The universe thus manifests the same values as we do, and only religion manages to convince us otherwise. If I live life just as it is prescribed in the chosen text of my family, I will gain access to a heavenly realm that will be denied to those that ignore said text. But the universe does not work like that, no matter how much religion might try to convince us otherwise.
4. Reliability- easily the most basic value representative of science. As Einstein said- the only miracle is that there are no miracles. The laws of this universe do not suddenly break down, gravity does not one day stop working and the sun does not randomly rise from the west. The universe is, yet again, exactly as reliable as we want it to be. Religion, on the other hand, often trails humanity when it comes to progressive and humane values.
Through the scientific method, humans have thus learnt that the universe is in alignment with their most basic values. If we are to educate youngsters in a way that produces responsible, moral humans, then it is not religion we must take them towards. Rather we must point them to science, where they will see that this universe (or god, if you want to call it that) is truthful, egalitarian, reliable and reciprocative- exactly the sort of humans we want our society to consist of. What India's moral brigade fails to realise is the profound irony of proclaiming the scientific progressiveness of one's ancient traditions on one hand, and clinging to regressive, patriarchal and non-humane thinking on the other- both delivered with a straight face in the name of patriotism and cultural sentiment.
Amritanshu Pandey is a writer and author of the novel The Seal of Surya. He lives in Gurgaon and works for one of the many corporations that dot the city's landscape. His interests lie in the fields of rationalism, skepticism, religion and the politics of religious institutions. He is on Twitter @amritanshu_soa
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