Sorry, I don't want to be picky, but it is important: no such thing as a scientific fact - only theories that haven't been dis-proven yet. The "scientific method" is based on an idea that a theory must be testable (there must be an experiment that would prove it false), and that it is only valid until it is proven false. There isn't really a concept of proving something true.
That said, there are of course a lot of theories that are very well understood and are extremely likely to be true.
You are right that in science you need to believe - or maybe a better way to put it is that for something to be "science" it needs to follow the rules of science. The doesn't mean its better - religion build cathedrals and pyramids, not science - but usually science works pretty well.
Originally Posted by jns
I second thatSorry, I don't want to be picky, but it is important: no such thing as a scientific fact - only theories that haven't been dis-proven yet. The "scientific method" is based on an idea that a theory must be testable (there must be an experiment that would prove it false), and that it is only valid until it is proven false. There isn't really a concept of proving something true.
There are those who believe that dictionaries should not merely reflect the times but also protect English from the mindless assaults of the trendy.
Scientists still don't know why tears are produced when humans are extremely sad/happy and not even all humans cry under similar circumstances. It doesn't mean that since we cannot scientifically explain why we cry we are allowed to say that crying doesn't exist. Because it does.
Darwin had a theory which many scientists agreed with. It has its gaps and yet cannot explain everything about life, only about evolution. This theory claims that life was created out of nothing. That plants and animals are related. That we are here because of an accident or amazing luck. It's a theory with certain good points, but I decline to believe that we are lucky to be here, so different from anything else living on this planet, be it an ant or a tomato, and that we were created from nothing. You cannot create anything from nothing.
As for another higher creation being involved, if there is then we will never know. If I had the chance to create a form of life I would also have the chance to keep it from having the choice to reach me. If I wanted to experiment with a lower form of life I'd just observe it and prevent it from reaching my "level".
I think that, somehow, everything is very well planned. Too well planned for it to be an accident or the result of two rocks hitting each other. I don't know how it happened, I don't think I will ever know, but I have the feeling there's something even better after this. Everything is well-balanced, from the distance the earth has to other planets to human thought and feeling. We wouldn't be here if the moon was not where it is, for example.
As for religion, this goes all the way back to how humanity started. They explained what they found extraordinary to Gods/nature. The more scientific proof we have the further we get from religion as a species. Also, people want to believe that they are here for a reason, that what they do is worth it, that they will be remembered. Believing that once they die they will turn into dust and disappear is not a pleasant thought for everyone.
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