The Utility Of Science

In an era where scientific progress has affected numerous aspects of human life, it is rare to find an honest acknowledgment of the epistemic useless of science.  For all of its advances, science cannot prove the existence of any particular thing:  it cannot even establish that the matter observed in empirical study exists to begin with, for only logic can accomplish such a feat [1].  As the example of electricity demonstrates (not that one could not reason this out without an example), though, there is no benefit to ignoring science and there is still much to gain from exploring it, despite that benefit being on a practical level instead of an epistemological one.

Even a cursory examination of electricity quickly affirms basic facts about the limitations of the scientific method.  Does electricity prove anything about the external world beyond human perceptions?  Of course not.  Does it reveal anything significant about epistemology in itself?  Of course not.  Do any of these facts mean it is not convenient and useful?  Certainly not!  As with scientific information in general, information about electricity is far from having no application.

Despite not having any use higher than mere convenience, electricity has still facilitated transportation, improved standards of living, and revolutionized entertainment.  It therefore serves as an example not only of the utility of science, but also of how it would be asinine to completely ignore science simply because it is inferior to logic in every epistemological regard.  If science is entirely disregarded on even a practical level by an entire society, that society will forfeit whatever potential convenience could have been enjoyed, making various inconveniences gratuitous and avoidable.

Anyone who thinks that science is capable of proving anything more than the nature of mere perceptions is shackled to assumptions, and false ones at that.  At the same time, it would be foolish to think that science has no usefulness at all--I wouldn't even be able to write this article were it not for technological advances brought about by science.  As long as utility is not confused for anything more, there is nothing problematic about emphasizing it.  Too many mistake the convenience of utility for an indicator of philosophical illumination, however, with science being incapable of providing any ultimate benefits beyond the practical.

[1].  https://thechristianrationalist.blogspot.com/2018/07/science-and-external-world.html