What do science, religion and art have in common?
3 Answers
A few thoughts...
Explanation:
This seems to me much more like an essay question than something we can do justice to in a short space, but here are a few thoughts...
Science is often subdivided into the Natural sciences (e.g. Physics, Chemistry, Biology) and the Pure sciences (e.g. Mathematics, Logic).
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Natural science is concerned with modelling the world around us, setting up assumptions as to how things work, testing those assumptions and making predictions from them.
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Pure science is concerned with the abstract frameworks themselves such as Mathematics and logical reasoning. As in the natural sciences, you are always working within a framework of assumptions, which in this context are often called axioms.
Like science, religion in its various forms can be thought of as trying to make sense of the world around us, both seen and unseen. So some vague similarities we might draw could be:
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A framework of basic assumptions, which in the context of religion are usually called beliefs.
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Common goals like trying to understand the reason behind the ways things are based on the basic assumptions.
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Adapting the ways in which we interact with the world based on the knowledge we gain.
The Arts often seem concerned with looking at the world through different eyes, deliberately avoiding taking things for granted. This has something of the flavour of the kind of divergent thinking required for innovation in science and faith in religion.
For example, Einstein by letting go of conventional intuitions and steadfastly clinging onto the idea that light travels with constant speed regardless of the frame of reference was able to produce his theory of special relativity.
The music of Bach often achieves astonishing structural form, yet carries a great deal of subjective appeal.
There you go - a few thoughts, but this is a massive question that could inspire books.
Historically the advent of the Protestant Reformation, The scientific Revolution, and the Rensaisance Art. were all connected to the birth of humanism.
Explanation:
During the Middle Ages the focus of thought was on the supernatural, and religious expression as dictated by the Roman Catholic Church.
Art was totally focused on religious themes, and often unrealistic. Art was paid for by the Church to serve religious purposes.
Science was dominated by religious control as well. The Church had endorsed the Greek science of Aristola as part of Church tradition. As part of Church tradition the Greek Science was considered to be without error, or need of examination, or question.
Religon was the dominant force during the middle ages in art and science.
With the advent of the Biblical Scriptures in Greek challenging the authority of Biblical Scriptures in Latin, the absolute control of the Roman Catholic religion was also challenged. This break down of the absolutely authority of the religious authority gave rise to new freedoms and forms in religion , science and art.
The focus of art in the Renaisance was the human body and society. In Florence art was sponsored by political and secular people, freeing Art from only Religious themes. This focus on everyday life was called humanism.
Scientists were free to experiment and use human reason to challenge the conclusions of ancient Greek Science. This caused the development of the Scientific method and the Scientific Revolution.
The break down of the absolute authority of the established Religious structures gave rise to the Protestant Reformation. The challenges to the religious authority helped to pave the was for the scientific revolution, and Resanisance Art.
Science, Religion and Art are all expressions of what is considered to reflect reality and truth.
Explanation:
Presently Science, Religion and Art are all attempts to reflect what is thought to be reality and truth.
Modern Art often presents reality from the viewpoint of current philosophies such as existentialism, nilism, and material realism.
Since the philosophy might be that there are no absolute truths the art reflects the philosophy with no definite meaning to the art. Or like Andy Warhal very realistic paintings of soup cans as part of the philosophy of material realism.
Science, is a search for truth. Scientific theories are an expression of what is thought to be real and true. However many Scientific theories are also expressions of a philosophical bias toward material realism. As only the natural and physical are consider to be real, the scientific theories reflect these beliefs.
Religion is also a search for truth.. Different religions have different ideas about what ultimate reality is. However most religions belief that ultimate reality is more than the natural and physical. Also most religions postulate that life has meaning and purpose, in contradiction to most of the world view reflected in modern art.
Presently Science, Religion and Art all have starkly different views of what reality and truth are. However all three share a common goal of expressing a world view of reality and truth.
