Carolina QuotesWe have to acknowledge (to ourselves, at least) that many questions we want the "right" answers to just don't have any. These are the questions about the morality of stem-cell research or abortion or affirmative action or gay marriage or our obligations to future generations. Many enlightened people, including many scientists, think that reasonable people can eventually find the right answers to such questions. Alas, it will turn out that all anyone can really find are the answers that they like.
Alexander Rosenberg Connected to the Carolinas
Source
No citation is recorded for this quotation.
- work
- The Atheist's Guide to Reality (2011)
- year
- 2011
no citation recorded
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“We have to acknowledge (to ourselves, at least) that many qu…” Alexander Rosenberg. Carolina Quotes, record CQ-656F51D1C7. https://carolinaquotes.com/quote/656f51d1c7
More from Alexander Rosenberg
What we know of physical and biological science makes existence of God less probable than the existence of Santa Claus. And the parts of physics that rule out God are not themselves open to much doubt. There is no chance that they will be revised by anything yet to be discovered. To be sure, there will be revolutionary developments in science. Superstring theory may give way to quantum-loop gravity; exceptions to the genetic code may be discovered; some unique function of consciousness may be identified. But there are some things that won't happen. Purposes and designs will never have a role in physics and biology. Perpetual motion machines and other violations of the laws of thermodynamics won't arise, not even if there turns out to be such a thing as cold fusion.
Biology is usually a lot more fun than physics. It's a lot easier to understand, and there's sex.
Science can explain why we value things, but the same goes for values we reject as wrong. That's why scientific explanations of what we value cannot justify those values or serve as a basis to enforce them on others. Since science is the only possible source of justification, if it doesn't work to justify values, nothing does.