The previous article, had a broadside attack on the ideas of Science, with a specific mention of the currently raging ‘Corona’. At the outset I am compelled to defend science for what it is, Science is Brave.
Science is humble, it professes to understand very little, and exposes itself by saying it does not know many things. But, it is brave as it explores the unknown, it is brave in that it openly exposes its ideas of the unknown for scrutiny, it is brave in that it openly accepts its mistakes.
Let’s understand this with respect to Corona. What is happening with Corona is a classic study in understanding how science progresses : with disagreements !
A group of scientist come together, based on data at hand, postulate a theory. For example, Hydroxycloroquine (HCQ) works for Covid-19. They publish their data, open it for peer review, open it for criticism. As first, the theory is attacked at its conceptual roots, how many people were part of the study, what was measured, how it was measured, is the conclusion logical. Then comes a second wave of attacks as other scientist around the world, using the data published conduct their own experiments. Maybe the idea iterates, HCQ with azthromycin (Azee) works for Covid-19. This new idea is again attacked by the same processes. Some might come up with an entire opposite conclusion, HCQ is bad for Covid-19.
Change is the fundamental backbone of scientific theory. One thing that a scientist can never deny is an empirically made observation, they can delay some inconvenient truths, but never deny them. This is the reason why Science is so powerful, as it imbibes the basic idea of nature, ‘Evolution’. It is never rigid. It never attaches itself to Dogma.
And whenever science has attached itself to dogma, it has ushered in the dark ages.
If you want perspective, just imagine the idea by the great Newton, Corpuscular theory of light. And then move to the Wave theory of light, wait a minute, now move to photons of light, then transcend into the quantum realm of light. Each step along this path, negates the previous, wave theory negates corpuscular theory and so on. Now, image all these changes, theories and new theories happening in a matter of six months. This is what is happening to Covid-19.
The scientific process of understanding a new disease which in the past took decades is happening in real time, in months. And rather than hold it against science, we must celebrate it. Human kind has sped up the scientific process, with so many scientists and resources focussed on a single problem. It is an exhibition of what the human race can achieve if it chooses to. The bubonic plague, the Spanish flu, took years if not decades to understand, Covid 19 is taking days and months. And, Guaranteed mistakes are being made as we speak, don’t wear masks, wear masks, don’t wear masks with valve, all these disagreements are leading to progress in our understanding of a new disease.
Coming back to Astrology, I feel this is what astrology lacks – openness. Maybe it the fault of the astrologer, or as you prefer to call the Jyotishi, or maybe it is the fault of the listener, The philosophy of Astrology is kept closed. This creates a dogmatic approach which in turn harvests its own flaws.
Secondly, the remedial, or the evolutionary approach of science in missing with Astrology. Agreed, it is thousands of years old, back to the vedas we say. But, now in these in between years, lots of new data has come, where is the openness in accepting this data, and adjusting the theory in light of this new data. Some may be doing it, however it is largely hidden from the public eye.
And this hidden aspect is what enrages the rationalists. Because, this secrecy, this dogma, cultivates blind faith. And blind faith is dangerous. Blind faith in science is dangerous, Blind faith in astrology is dangerous.
If there is anything that Astrology can learn from Modern science, then it is Openness. Accepting that knowledge is for everyone. Laying out all the fundamentals, all the theories, all the data, to public scrutiny. Then maybe some people accept it to further their life, or maybe some people reject it. Either way, we have clarity.
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