December 28

That which is called science is either the most important human activity, when its aim is to discover the laws of human life, or the most insignificant and stupefying activity, when it is concerned with studying everything that might arouse the curiosity of idle people.

1

One might imagine that, in order to recognize the importance of the activities that are called science, one must first prove that these activities are useful. The people of science, however, typically reply that since they are working on specific subjects, someone, somewhere and sometime is sure to find their work useful.

2

There is a crude scientific superstition, originating from the same source as religious superstition—the desire to indulge human weaknesses—which is as harmful, if not more so, than the religious one. People become deluded and lead bad lives. When a human being realizes the wrongness of his life, his natural response is to try to change himself, but here comes “science”—the science of governmental, financial, ecclesiastical, criminal, political, and all other kinds of rights, the science of political economy, history and, the most fashionable, sociology—and it turns out that people’s bad lives are the result of immutable laws, and that people’s task is not to try to overcome their weaknesses and make their lives better, but merely to be present while their life flows according to the laws discovered by the scientists. This superstition so clearly contradicts both common sense and human conscience that it could never have been accepted by people if it did not offer such a soothing justification for their bad lives.

Religious superstitions have never caused, and cannot cause, an evil like this.

3

We lack the knowledge to understand even the workings of the human body. Take a look at what this understanding requires: a body requires space, time, motion, heat, light, food, water, air and much besides. In nature, however, everything is so tightly connected together that it is impossible to understand one thing without studying another. One cannot understand a part without understanding the whole. We will only understand the workings of the body when we learn about everything that it needs, and for this we will have to learn about everything in the universe. But the universe is infinite and unfathomable to the human mind. It follows that we cannot fully understand even the workings of our own bodies.

— Pascal

4

Just like various amusements, games, rides, walks, etc., the study of sciences that are useless to spiritual life, such as astronomy, mathematics, physics, etc., should only be done when these activities do not get in the way of your duties, but it is just as immoral to engage in sciences that do not contribute to the true, spiritual good of humankind as it is to spend time on amusements to the detriment of your direct duties.

Science is not that which people refer to by this term, but that which constitutes the highest and most necessary subject of study for the good of humankind.