Loren Booda said:
Is the moon there when you cannot sense it?
Unless someone else tells me they are observing the moon I have no way to know if it is there when I am not observing it for myself. All I know is that I can always observe it when I do look at it, and others can confirm my belief that it exists. It's trajectory is predictable and logical, and this allows the information to be communicated to others unequivocally. The unequivocalness of the moon makes it simple to believe that it absolutely exists whether I am currently observing it or not.
Does the great majority of nonscientists trust science?
I have no idea what the majority believe, as there seem to be such diversity in opinion it can be hard to determine. Being a nonscientist myself I would say my opinion is that the results produced by science are very reliable. I trust those results, even though I often question them. As I narrow my focus to methods I become skeptical. Finally, as I scrutinize individual motives I do not see many predictable patterns worthy of trusting. When I examine religion and spiritualism I find a pattern almost opposite to that.
Has knowledge in general become so arcane as to divorce it from practicality?
A lot of the advanced principles of science aren't practical for the average person, so I would say yes. The general level of knowledge need only be enough to take advantage of the efforts of a specialized society. I'm reminded of when my grandfather told me he doesn't work on his own cars much anymore because of all the electronics in them.
In their lives, most of mankind has selected a few convenient facts to explain their world view and accept the crumbs that filter down from academia. I believe that human nature impels also the scientist, no matter how learned, to rely mostly on personal belief for plastering together observations.
Which governs our lives and institutions, secular faith or science?
Secular faith governs society, not science. Many people have no grasp of even basic scientific principles simply because the knowledge isn't practical to their lives. One doesn't need to know about radio waves or battery chemistry or electronics to use a cell phone.
Personally, I think it is a mistake to say that science governs anything. Science is itself governed by our, hopefully objective, interpretation of the laws of the physical universe. Science does not govern the universe. Science exists only within the portion of the mind capable of rational thought. It is also my opinion that the best science is a result of insight and serendipity as much as it is of logical inference. Science does a good job of predicting logical phenomena. Faith, secular or otherwise, is better suited for determining the way in which one leads their life, determines the measure of beauty, and chooses to define their character. I see no reason that the two should conflict. In fact, if they are conflicting then it's probable that one is being used in place of the other. Truth is as beautiful as it is logical, and is confined to neither.
