Humanism and Science

It is commonly thought that science discovers objective knowledge that is independent of humans. Prof. Chang Hasok, the Hans Rausing Professor of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, put lie to that conventional wisdom by taking a closer look at the process of science, which reveals that it is a thoroughly human activity. The observation of nature relies on human sense organs or instruments made by humans. Scientific reasoning relies on mathematics, which is created by humans. Scientific explanations are accepted only if they appeal to human intuitions. The aims of science cannot be separated from human needs and desires, and the achievements of science are made only within human abilities. Science is not a pursuit of truth that transcends humans, but a cultural process in which humans learn about nature in a human fashion.