Posted on 02/02/2003 12:12:15 PM PST by anotherview
Rabbi Aviner: Science Is Important For Mankind
Arutz-7's Arik Kahane spoke with Yeshivat Ateret Cohanim Dean Rabbi Shlomo Aviner about the spiritual aspects of the tragedy: "Israel's first space director Prof. Yuval Ne'eman said that men need not be sent up into space, only unmanned rockets. Do you agree?"
Rabbi Aviner's response: "That is of course a question that scientists have to answer. In general, however, some say that it's a waste of resources to invest in space study at the expense of other needs such as the poor down here on Earth. This is not true, however, because even studies that in the short-range appear to be abstract, bring benefit to humanity in the long-range... Without 'research' there can be no 'development...' It's clear, of course, that there needs to be a balance... Science sometimes exacts a price in human lives. But it's true that just as one may in general not endanger his life, still and all, one is allowed to work in certain more hazardous occupations, or even to travel on highways even though there are car accidents... The pursuit of science and knowledge is something from which humanity gains, even though there are sometimes casualties ... We will not stop our pursuit of science, but must merely take the proper precautions..."
Rabbi Aviner asked to note the following: "Even the fact that people died has to be taken in the proper proportions. When someone is murdered by terrorist criminals, it's much worse than when someone is killed by a technical glitch; I don't know why people aren't much more shocked by terrorist murders than by what happened yesterday..."
That's correct. No one can know in advance what developments will result from basic research. Science is being advanced on all fronts all the time and it isn't something that can be ordained to proceed in a particular direction by politicians nor by scientists themselves.
If there is a goal, the activity, while appearing similar to science as seen from outside, is development and falls in the area of engineering. If there is no specific goal, the activity is research, in the area of science.
So where is the ISS? Is it science or engineering, is it research or development? Looks like pure development, no science, but with a particularly weak goal. There is little pure science going on in the ISS due to several factors, one of which is the expense of operating the Space Shuttle. But the development work, engineering, has no objective aside from the exercise.
The space engineers, small in number, are keeping their expertise at a high level. Maybe some day they will have an actual ambitious mission such as building a moon base or a Mars base or asteroid mining. Until then they are doing calesthenics--keeping their sliderules limber.
The Rabbi's right.
I don't know why people aren't more shocked when a terrorist criminal shoots an eight-year old girl in the back with his IDF-issued machine gun or uses an army tank to knock down a house full of civilians in the West Bank. I really don't.
More people should be concerned with this problem but they aren't. Maybe if the eight year old girl or the 69 year old grandmother were astronauts, somebody might actually give a damn...
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