“Is Scientific Progress Inevitable?”
“Is Scientific Progress Inevitable?” is an essay written by Andrew Irvine, and published in In the Agora: The Public Face of Canadian Philosophy, a book mainly discussing intersections between contemporary topics and philosophy. The writer explains how he took his nine-year-old daughter to see an aboriginal medicine wheel that rested atop the rolling Moose Mountains located southeast of Regina. The children were taken there needed to be at least nine years because one was required to know how to ride a horse since that was used to reach the medicine wheel. The scenery was fantastic. The stones’ structures were built for different reasons, with some being commemoration of the dead but for others, landmarks for the bare land. Nonetheless, they all had a significant spiritual connection to the natives of this region.
However, some wheels were built for scientific purposes. In Wyoming, the Bighorn wheel had close similarities with the Moose mountain medicine wheel, despite being located 700 kilometers away. For instance, the longest spoke for the two lines up directly with the sunrise point at the summer solstice, and the natives of this region had noted that sunset and sunrise shift along the horizon. Astronomical sciences are essential to numerous ancient cultures is well documented, and for most medicine wheels, they have cairns which point to other similar structures which are located in different places.
Currently, the astrological knowledge that can be linked with these structures has been lost to the native residents. The monuments show that scientific advancements are linked to unpredictable social progress, which is complicated. Notably, science can bring an end to wars, disease, and hunger. Nonetheless, if there is no will to protect or preserve such accomplishments and improve them, life will always be unpredictable.
In “Is Scientific Progress Inevitable?” Andrew Irvine argues that scientific progress is an uncertain but delicate practice that requires care and nurturing. The writer has used firsthand experience where he took his daughter to the archeological site called Medicine wheel. According to Irvine, seeing this plain reminds him of how fragile science is, and given that it is not known why most of these wheels were established, their scientific ideas are lost as time passes by. The author concluded the writing by using a quote from a renowned philosopher, which explains that if we do not coddle and protect science, some of the critical scientific discoveries will be forgotten. Markedly, science is a crucial thing in a society that can help solve most of the challenges, including hunger, wars, and several other ailments.
Irvine then compares the medicine wheels to Stonehenge or pyramids in Egypt, both of which the technology behind this structure is being forgotten with time, and instead, people only prefer visiting them as historical sites. The scientific importance is overlooked, which should be the primary consideration. Stonehenge and the medicine wheel’s theories are either spiritual or related to astronomy, where it can be used for calendar applications. Notably, it is not right to argue that astronomy is constant because people do not understand the wheels’ real purposes. Markedly, the missing knowledge could be information that could help in the advancement of astronomy. Thus, focusing more on the medicine wheel could help find a solution to some of the world’s factors today.