Gods and Monsters: The Scientific Method Applied to the Human Condition - Book II

by Giano Rocca

  Chapter 17:

  Science and concepts of causal principle and of purpose

  Kant had distinguished clearly between “deduction by concepts” and its “synthetic proposition regardless” (1), which gave scientific validity, at least as position propaedeutic, to scientific theory, as proposition: deriving from the essence more properly natural of the human beings. He stated that “only for the fact that a certain order in the temporal relationship of our representations is necessary, to they is assigned an objective value” (2). Stated, that is, that the alleged inevitability of structural reality, allows to make her assume, generally, of the maximum validity and even of it deify. The contemporary epistemology states that the only inevitable compatible with science is the result consistent with the purposes and the means necessary to achieve the purpose. The aforesaid purposes must not be inconsistent with the general nature and with that of the proposers the same purpose, namely with human nature. The persistence of the aims of the research imply the existence of cosmic purpose and human, consistent, namely, with the nature of the universe and with human nature. The cause and the purpose are generated from the very nature of the cosmos, which evolves under the thrust of determined cases, according to the logic necessary to the achievement of the purpose.

  The founders of modern science, namely: Galileo, Bacon, Descartes, Hobbes, Newton and Spinoza, they recoiled from the conception of a finality of nature and of the science itself. This conception tap its culmination with Darwin, which envisaged the randomness as locomotive of the evolution of the species. The randomness is, however, the absence of scientificity, by definition. Then, taking this road, the modern science has gone down a blind alley, although initially fruitful, as it has allowed at the scientific methodology of prescind from ideologies and of proceed in a rational way. This conception, bringing, however, toward its logical consequences, denounces itd own limits and its self-contradiction. It follows that: to a sense of purpose of feudal type and ideological, must be replace a finality natural and human, namely rational. If in this way you will achieve a new capacity for scientific progress, it would derive the proof of scientificity of the postulate same, placed a premise.

  The search for the purposes, is not other that the deepening of the research of the causes, search the latter, which is inseparable from science itself, because the search of the ways not consists of nothing but try to give answers on the causes, albeit at levels more simples. The folding on the analysis of the ways, made by the Galilean science, is none other than the correct way for the research of the causes which, in their full unfolding, give reason (or reason to exist) of the purpose, since the aim is implicit in the causes. Scientists they realize the importance of the anthropic principle (of which has already been discussed above) and of its link with a new senso of purpose, which would to reconcile with the science, after its suspension, happened between 1600 and 1700. By analyzing the modalities of the occurrence of the phenomena, science has come to the discovery of many causes and many purposes of phenomena or events. It can be assumed that science is now able to deal directly the search for causes and purposes, without the fear of being diverted from the ideologies or by religions. Science can be defined as: the expression of the degree of progress of the manifestation of the being, with respect to the purpose cognitive dictated by cosmic nature, of which humanity is in a position to be conscious, or not. Recent studies on the quantum mechanics demonstrate how the physics is deterministic, although not uniform nor unidirectional. These studies show how also this physics allow, namely, some space at the times and ways of evolution, or multiple trend and responsive to multiple causes and at to a complexity of purposes (3). Some scientific studies speak of “constants of nature”, in which the human being and life, in general, would be inserted and from these subjected, in an inseparable manner. A cosmology has recently reformulated the “principle anthropic"” which implies a finality, inherent in the nature. It recognizes, in fact, as, even minimum variations cosmic, with respect to the constants of nature: would have made life impossible (4).

  Some recent cosmological theories have recover the causality and shelved the randomness (5), as fact marginal. The concept of cosmic purpose and human aims, as every other metaphysical concept, must be considered a scientific hypothesis, which can be confirmed or falsified: by comparison with the cosmic reality and human and their respective evolutions. The metaphysics is analysis of the forms and absolute essences. It must be demythologized and considered an gill of the knowledge, object of analysis with the scientific method. The forms and absolute essences, as well as the same mathematical entity, are entities of metaphysical type (definable as spiritual, since it are nothing more than the fruit of thought), having an own heuristic validity. These concrete manifestations give concrete existence to the abstract entity (or give at the value of object of scientific theory) while, regardless from these concrete manifestations, remain pure spiritual construct, devoid of existence, namely pure scientific hypothesis, at least if formulated in an context of falsifiability. Thus, one can speak of a scientific hypothesis, in the cases: of the causative source cosmic or principle, of the cosmic purpose (purpose or the simple arrival point) and the means of evolution, namely, evolutionary praxis of the cosmos itself. The concrete manifestations of such entities, conceived by Plato, are the statements of the scientific theories, such as the “big bang”, for the cosmic principle; the entropy, the implosion, cosmic contraction, its expansion or the cosmic cyclicity, as regards the cosmic purpose. For every living being and, therefore, for every human being, there is, similarly, a principle (or efficient cause: parents and their intention or the ability procreative), a means, or life story, and an purpose: deep instincts and purpose of life. The theologies and philosophies tend to confuse the metaphysical entities with their concrete manifestations. This confusion substantiates the personification of the being, made by religions.

  The adleriana psychoanalysis, considered in the psychoanalytical field as a heretic, itself research, not only, the causes of psychic phenomena (already in itself in contrast with the canons of scientific currents, which instead propose to search only the ways in which a given phenomenon occurs), but also the purposes, giving thus value to the objectives, in all fields (6). This reborn finality, appears, however, suggested by ideological motives.