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Science And Human Sufferings
OR
Science As An Enemy To Man
Science is praise worth yet condemnable in many respects. It is neither good nor bad in itself. Only its use makes it so. Man may use for welfare as well as warfare.it is a blessing in peace and a curse in war.it becomes a curse only when man uses it for the fulfilment of his evil designs. For example, an atom bomb cannot explode of its own accord. It explodes due to its application for evil objectives.
The wrong use of science has made man material beast. Everybody hankers after the glitter of wealth. Money has become the standard of social status. Man is saluted and valued only for his wealth. The poor man's opinion holds no weight. Man has lost touch with spiritual and moral values. The sanctity of the joint family system has been ruined. Art, literature and religion have lost their sway. Human life has become artificial. It has lost its brightness. Man has become a material beast. He always tries to grab things he can. Contentment, sacrifice and patients have become old forgotten words. The first tempo of life is eating away the very vitals of human happiness. Man is always discontent, unhappy, worried and dissatisfied. The more he is enjoying scientific discoveries, the more he is developing beastly qualities.
The 19th century was a century of industrial revolution. Every new machinery was invented. Formerly, work was done with hands. More and more people were engaged in that work. Machines began to do much work with less labour. They required fewer hands but gave more production. In this way, many people lost jobs and began to starve. Science gave birth to unemployment, inflation, competition and capitalism. Capitalism created class struggle. The big capitalists began to exploit the poor. It created class distinction.
In his desire to conquer nature,man is pouring his sources into space blindly. Millions of pounds are spent on one man to send him in space; wild millions on earth live who are crying only for a morsel of bread. The money and effort spent on a single type of space rocket can provide many days bread to millions of people. But man’s rat race to conquer space does not allow him to look to the poor which is a great curse of science.
Today, man is heaping up fatal weapons like atom bombs, hydrogen bombs and computerized missiles. In the past, wars and battles were not so destructive. Only a few persons were affected. Now, where has become a destructive and senseless weapon. The invention of poisonous gases and chemical material has made war horrible. Only one person can death and destruction beyond limits. No country can escape the harms in a modern war in which the whole civilization may come to an end. This is the greatest curse of science.
More even than all, science has made man forgetful of all. He believes only in the things he can see and understand under the light of his reasoning. Consequently, he has become a moral pygmy.
But if we look at the matters impartially, we will come to know that science is neither a blessing nor a curse in itself. If it is used for human welfare, it is a blessing. If it is used for human destruction, it is a curse. We cannot blame science as to be good or bad in itself. It is up to us to which objectives we put it. Shakespeare rightly says:
‘ There is nothing either good or bad,
But thinking makes it so.’