Science: Enlightenment or Religion?
Science has a record high reputation these days. In an ever more complex world, leaders call for the guidance of scientists. During the U.S. presidential election, Joe Biden repeatedly called to “listen to the scientists”.
His remark was addressed at the now former President Trump who had his rather unique views about science. Shortly after, the 46th President of the United States was elected with the promise to lead the biggest economy in the world by scientific principles. After several years working for a scientific institution in Switzerland, I leave the scientific circles and take this opportunity to give my own views about what science is and can do. Enjoy!
What is a Scientist?
They send us to the moon, developed the internet, and discovered antibiotics. „They“ are scientists. Somehow mystic beings that shaped predominantly the course of history without getting the attention of an Ariana Grande. They have probably never heard of Ariana Grande. But what are scientists? And what do they do?
A scientist is commonly thought of as a person with a white cloak, working in a lab, with a great interest in video games, wearing a pair of Birkenstock. So far the stereotype. Nothing could be further from the truth (except for the Birkenstock sandals). The scientists I have met are in fact very curious people that don’t like to be in the lab all day but want to get out and talk to people about the world. They are people that are very curious by nature and want to understand the world as best as they can. What differs between them and „normal“ people is their approach: the scientific method. Basically, it is an empirically driven approach to acquire knowledge. It comprises several tasks such as observing, hypothesizing, experimenting, analyzing, theorizing and publishing. But science is more than just tasks. Science is a mindset. If you are a scientist by heart, you are constantly aware of the limits of your understanding. You doubt what you know and you are curious about what you don’t know. You basically constantly update your views based on data, not based on feelings. Changing your mind is seen as a scientific discipline, not a moral weakness. Being persuaded means being a step closer to the truth, not being defeated. So far the theory.
Science — A new Religion?
You don’t have to be a scientist to reason like one. But being a scientist does also not guarantee that you have a scientific mindset. Being a scientist can be hard. What was true yesterday may be wrong today. And humans — including scientists — prefer to hang on to old beliefs. Reconsidering something that we believe is true doesn’t come naturally to all of us. The ever more diverging viewpoints on issues like migration, technology, and climate change are evidence of this. Ultimately, these issues shouldn’t be subject to viewpoints but facts. When your viewpoint of reality is strongly biased, it is difficult to understand what’s going on. Extremists, fundamentalists, and idealists misread the facts to reinforce their viewpoints of the world. They don’t want to include facts that contradict their theory. And the scientist is no exception to this.
Even though scientists usually are exceptionally intelligent — being able to understand complex topics quickly — they can be subject to biases that reinforce their beliefs. As Adam Grant puts it:
Being good at thinking makes you worse at rethinking.
This is in fact scientifically proven. Intelligent people are especially prone to confirmation biases (seeing what you want to see), desirability biases (seeing what you expect to see) and the I am not biased bias (thinking you are more objective than everyone else). And the biggest problem of it all: we are not aware that our thinking is subject to these biases. Therefore, it is — in my experience — crucial to always rethink your own assumptions and beliefs, have an open ear and heart for constructive critique, don’t allow your analysis to be influenced by popularity, and choose accuracy instead.
But even when we have become familiar with the scientific way of thinking including the ability to rethink our own assumptions and biases, is that the highest form of being? Already in 1978, psychologist Scott Peck dared to ask if science could be a religion. For him, religion is not necessarily a belief in God. He defines religion as an “explicit or implicit set of ideas and beliefs as to the essential nature of the world.” In this sense, he calls science the “religion of skepticism”. The beliefs of this religion are that humans are subject to bias and prejudice. A simple experience cannot be trusted. Experiences must be repeatable. The keywords are reality, examination, and knowledge. Despite this “new religion”, Peck describes science as an evolutionary leap compared to most worldviews that humans ever had and have. However, he believes that even scientific-minded people have barely begun what he calls the “journey of spiritual growth”, the next level of higher being. At this point, I can just recommend Peck’s book: The Road Less Traveled.
We All Can Be Scientists
In 2019, a group of scientists ran an experiment with 116 entrepreneurs. Their Start-Ups were not making any money yet. The scientists wanted to find out if having a scientific mindset training could influence the success of business. The entrepreneurs met for a four-month training to learn about strategy, customer engagement, and prototyping. They didn’t know that they were randomly assigned to two groups: one that received scientific thinking training and one (the control group) that did not. The scientific-trained group learned to see their strategies rather as a theory instead of an approach written in stone, customer feedback as a hypothesis instead of the ultimate truth, and prototyping as an experiment to test their hypothesis. Their decisions were based on evidence. If the evidence did not support the hypothesis, they rejected it and a new one was formed and tested. The result? Over the next year, the control group made on average $255 in revenue while the scientific-trained group made $12 071. In every way measured, the scientific-trained group did better. Because they didn’t stay for long with a strategy or belief that wasn’t supported by evidence. Leaders that were strong-minded were less successful than those that questioned their own beliefs.
The bottom line for me is:
Being a scientist is not a profession. It is a mindset.
It is a dedication to searching for the truth. And you can integrate the scientific method in your own profession as well as in your daily life. In every environment, you can observe, set up a hypothesis and test it in experiments to come to conclusions. And it is likely that they will improve the quality of your daily decisions.
What’s your opinion? Share below in the comments — I’d love to hear them! If you like to hear more about my perspectives on sustainability, innovation, and change, feel free to follow me on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/gregor-braun
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Gregor Braun is a Sustainability Manager, Consultant, and Scientist in Switzerland. Gregor works closely with industrial partners to develop actionable sustainability strategies. He writes about science, innovation & transformation.
