The Most Valuable Commodity On Earth

Mild shock. That was my first reaction to Michael Manson’s “How to Teach Science to the Pope” (found in our course readings). Listen to the media tell it, the Catholic Church is opposed to science in fairly every form, from genetic modification to evolution to the Big Bang, every last little bit of it. Should’ve figured – you can’t believe everything you see on TV.

Turns out, the Vatican’s acceptance of science is nearly a complete one-eighty from the media portrayal. Not only do they accept many scientific views and work to intersect scientific discoveries with the Catholic belief system, they have various institutions of their own, composed of scientists ranging from clergymen to atheists, to pioneer discoveries and discuss their applications to faith. And it makes a lot of sense, once you hear it. Consolmango, a Jesuit brother and astronomer for the Vatican Observatory, explains in the article that “the idea that the universe is worth studying just because it’s worth studying is a religious idea. If you think the universe is fundamentally good and that it’s an expression of a good God, then studying how the universe works is a way of becoming intimate with the Creator. It’s a kind of worship” (Manson 1).

It’s not a bad point. In many facets of science, the goal is to better humanity – to improve on technology, to save lives, to better the human condition. The study of the universe, however, the pursuit of understanding our creation, cannot feasibly do any of these things. It is, as Kurt Vonnegut would say, pure research; research is not “looking for a better cigarette filter or a softer facial tissue or a longer-lasting house paint, God help us” (Vonnegut 35). Pure research is when “men are paid to increase knowledge, to work toward no end but that”. And “nothing generous about it. New knowledge is the most valuable commodity on Earth. The more truth we have to work with, the richer we become” (Vonnegut 36).

Perhaps Vatican science is right on the money.

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Looking for more? On the discoverability of the universe, and it’s relationship to humanity, spend six minutes here.

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Sources:

Mason, Michael. "How to Teach Science to the Pope." Discover Magazine. August 18, 2008. http://discovermagazine.com/2008/sep/18-how-to-teach-science-to-the-pope

Vonnegut, Kurt. Cat’s Cradle. New York: Dell Publishing Company, Inc, 1963.