Faith in Science

Let's try to get something straight: It makes no sense to say, "I have -- or, I don't have -- faith in science."  Why?

Science is not a belief system; it's a tool for getting to the truth about physical matters. We can believe whatever we want, but science helps us know something using (1) our senses and (2) experimentation. Information obtained through the scientific method is more reliable and reproducible than that based on anecdote, observation, intuition or belief. 

"If you found a yellow ring, you might want to know, 'Is it gold?' You could try to figure it out by rubbing the metal between your fingers or examining it closely. You might even bite it the way people did years ago to test for purity. Such crude observations leave you vulnerable to harvesting fool's gold. You discover the truth about the purity of your ring only by using scientifically proven methods that determine the exact composition of the metal." (from Happiness in a Storm, p. 148)

Science helps us know what something is, how it works and how to change the natural course of events. Whatever Healthy Survivors might believe about the role of stress, god(s), diet, life-force, or whatever in illness and healing, they know that scientific experimentation leads to reliable, reproducible information that is independent of all belief systems. 

Comments

[Kairol Rosenthal]

Amen and Halleluja. (That's supposed to be a joke.) I think it is ironic when people ask me if I believe in alternative medicine, raw diets, acupuncture. Nobody asks me if I believe in Radioactive Iodine treatment, surgery, or thyrogen. How I treat my cancer is not about belief but about evidence: Does it work? Show me data. And if there is not enough evidence and I am going to experiment on my own body (which I have done with allopathic and CAM) I'll do so in an empirical way so I can track my progress and use scientific reason to understand the results.

I will tweet this post widely. It is a great one.

Kairol

blog - http://everythingchangesbook.com/

[Wendy S. Harpham, M.D.]

Kairol,
Uh oh. It looks like we share a similar sense of humor. Thank you so much for helping me help people make wise decisions. And thank you for all you are doing with your blog and book. With hope, Wendy

[Lori Hope]

Great post, Wendy.

By definition, faith does not require or invite empirical data.

Similarly, there is no such thing as "false hope", since hope is a belief, often based on a deep and inexplicable sense that things will get better.

I don't know if your post is a response to something in particular, but I am with you and Kairol. And I believe in the placebo effect, based on the science of belief.

Always hope,
Lori
http://www.lorihope.com
http://lorihope.com/blog

[Wendy S. Harpham, M.D.]

Dear Lori,

Yes, the post is in response to something: I keep reading stories, blog posts and editorials that focus on some detail(s) about getting good care, while ignoring -- or misrepresenting -- some fundamental truth(s).

Healthy Survivors can make wise decisions only if they know the difference between information obtained from observation and that obtained from well-executed clinical experimentation.

With hope, Wendy

[lori hope]

Just looked at your previous post and understand what this is in response to. I love your posts, but as I'm sure you know, it can feel impossible to read every one, especially when we're busy responding to comments on our blogs on top of everything else!
Nevertheless, I'll try to at least take a glance, lest I miss something crucial!
-LH