In this blog post, we revisit the meanings of despair and hope, loneliness and courage through Hemingway’s ‘The Old Man and the Sea’. After a dark night, the bright sun always rises True to its title, this book focuses solely on the story of ‘The Old Man and the Sea’. While a boy occasionally accompanies the old man, most events unfold around the aged fisherman and the vast ocean...
Will entropy lead humanity to ruin, or is technology the key to salvation?
This blog post explores the concept of thermal death presented in ‘Entropy: A New World View’ and how technological advancement could transform humanity’s future. The author begins the book by addressing the mechanistic worldview. He holds a skeptical view of the mechanistic worldview built over the past 300 years by Francis Bacon, René Descartes, and Isaac Newton. According to this...
Are beaver dams and the Tit for Tat strategy products of genes or replicators?
This blog post reinterprets animal behavior and cultural transmission patterns from the perspective of ‘selfish replicators,’ examining how evolutionary phenomena difficult to explain solely by genes can be reconceptualized. The debates surrounding 21st-century evolutionary theory cannot be explained without reference to Richard Dawkins’s controversial work, The Selfish Gene. This...
Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (Is Animal Testing Really Necessary?)
After reading ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind’, I pondered the ethics and necessity of animal testing. Between scientific progress and respect for life, what choice should we make? Animal testing refers to experiments or scientific procedures conducted on animals for scientific purposes such as education, testing, research, and the production of biological agents. In this process...
In the Age of Science, How Should Religious Belief Be Reevaluated?
This blog post attempts to reconsider and reevaluate the meaning of religious belief in an era dominated by science and reason. “If one person suffers from delusions, it’s called insanity. If many people suffer from delusions, it’s called religion.” This is a passage from the introduction of Richard Dawkins’ book, borrowing Robert Pirsig’s words to describe religion...
Does science progress, or does it merely shift?
This blog post explores whether science progresses or merely shifts, focusing on Thomas Kuhn’s concept of incommensurability. Thomas Kuhn’s ‘The Structure of Scientific Revolutions’, which introduced his paradigm thesis, was published in 1962 and immediately sparked the ‘Kuhnian Revolution’. Thomas Kuhn’s theory of scientific development and change, condensed into the...
In the Age of Science and Technology, Where Does Humanity Lie?
This blog post reflects on the meaning of humanity within a society dominated by science and technology, through Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis’. Waking up one morning, Gregor discovers he has become a bug. Transformed into a bug, Gregor finds himself unwelcome anywhere human hands reach, ultimately rejected even by his own family, becoming a true superfluous human. If one focuses...
Is the accumulation of parts more important in scientific research, or is holistic insight more crucial?
In this blog post, we explore the essence of scientific research, focusing on the discussions between Heisenberg, Burton, and Dirac. ‘Physics and Beyond: Encounters and Conversations’ is a book recording conversations, debates on various topics with numerous people encountered while researching atomic physics, and the author’s own reflections. This book goes beyond merely explaining...
Is rape an adaptation, or the result of misdirected sexual desire?
This blog post examines the scientific debate over whether rape is an evolutionary adaptation or a byproduct of sexual desire mechanisms. Before beginning this blog post, I want to mention that this blog post cannot make value judgments about whether rape is ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. I believe science has no place in making value judgments about rape. Science can only determine the truth...
Can genetic enhancement be considered a choice that guarantees the child’s best interests?
This blog post examines whether genetic enhancement truly benefits children or whether parental decisions limit their autonomy, exploring various cases and arguments. Michael Sandel argues in his book “The Ethics of Life” that parents should not genetically design their children, opposing genetic manipulation and excessive education. Sandel introduces the concept of ‘changing love’ in this...