Of course, most people quoting the analogy omit the curseword at the end, but it does give a further emphasis on the perceived superiority of science to these other modes of seeking the truth, and how dumb it is to pursue different understandings of the world. It seems to say that we have the tools to learn the truth about the world around us if you would only get of the couch, get out of your Church, grab a flashlight, and go. To insert the word "fucking" in there makes Science the final straw.
What an incredibly limited view of reality that is.
Okay, so I grabbed my flashlight, I went into the dark room, and I found a Cat. Scientific inquiry has just proven to me that there is a Cat in this dark room. That's great, that's wonderful, we shouldn't discount that in anyway. It is the true.
Now what do I do with it?
Science has very little more to offer on the subject. I may ask "How did it get here?" Maybe I do some more scientific inquiry with my flashlight and find that the window into the room was left open, and the cat must have crawled inside. There had better be something -- if there are no windows and doors, then I am left asking how the cat got there in the first place, and Science may not have a great answer for me.
Then I am left asking what should I do with the cat? Do I keep it? Do I turn it over to the SPCA? Do I just throw it back out of the house? These are questions that have no scientific answer, it's all ethics and values. Those tend to come from somewhere else. You can bring as much science as you want into the decision making, but in the end you have to make a choice as to what you are going to do with the cat, and some form of ethical decision making is required.
Philosophy can help with that (ethics). Theology perhaps can as well, as it points to a being that we need to respond to and that being may have some thoughts on what should be done. And if the cat just suddenly appeared in a room without windows and doors where before there was none; well, my friend, it seems maybe we need a little metaphysics in our life after all. Not a lot, but a little.
This happens a lot in our national debates over this issue or that issue. Science tells us that the world is getting warmer, and probably that humans are the cause. What do we do about it? Science has allowed us to create clones and examine the genome, perhaps modify the primordial soup of our very beings so we can be...well, better. What do we do with that information?
Putting your faith blindly in science and assuming it has all the answers is, in my opinion, just as intellectually bankrupt as assuming that one's religion is infallible. Scientists, philosophers, theologians, and even maybe a few metaphysics guys, all need to be working together to paint a larger picture of the reality that surrounds us and how best it is that we move through it.
Oh, and The Oatmeal. Normally quite funny, if a little "wrrrrpppp???". I have seldom been disappointed with a visit to their site. I just think here they are wrong.
And why am I linking to them? They are huge! You can like buy stuff from them and shit. They certainly don't need my help. If anything they should be linking to me, a little nobles oblige.
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