Monday, October 10, 2011

“Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind,” said Albert Einstein, arguably one of the greatest scientists that ever existed. He meant that science and religion are both essential in our world today, and that they have to coexist together in the society. It is true that science led to an increase in rational thought that contradicted religious teachings, leading some people to abandon one for the other, or practice more diluted version of faith. However, many people in the world today have actually embraced religion in the face of rapid scientific developments. Furthermore, not all areas of science and types of religion contradict each other, and since the world has seen as much economic, political and social transformations as much as scientific ones, it is not exactly true that the advancement of science led to the decline of religion.

In the recent centuries, the great advancement of science has lead to the discovery of a plethora of scientific understandings and even laws that transformed our understanding of the universe. These theories and laws have arguably lead religion to a slow but steady decline as the faith of the people in the divine waned over time. In the late 1660s, Newton changed the world with the discovery of the universal law of gravitation that objects on Earth experience a pull from Earth which is of similar concept to the pull between celestial objects out in the far realms of space. Previously, people have thought of the motion of planets and stars in space to be by the control of the supernatural, but all these have been debunked by this law. Following which, the theory of evolution by Charles Darwin in the 19th century was a further blow towards religion as it contested that living things adapted and evolved over the years to form a variety of species on Earth, instead of a divine being breathing life into the Earth all at once, as the Chinese Goddess Nu Wa or the Christian God did. With the advent of rational thought and newer understanding of the world, people began to question the assumptions and the understanding of deities, leading to a gradual decline in religion.

On the other hand, not all breakthroughs in science had a negative impact on religion. On the contrary, some discoveries have actually strengthened the proposition of an existence of an omnipotent and divine being. While science seeks to fill up the gaps in the understanding of the world through logical deduction and hypothesis testing, it has actually lead to more uncertainties in the understanding of the world as some theories can actually be used to prove the existence of a god. The startling discovery of the mass-energy equivalence principle by Albert Einstein, along with the current understanding of the conservation of mass and energy, has lead to a logical deduction that the universe started out with a certain amount of energy, presumably from a creator that made the universe with order and sophistication, which Einstein has staunchly believed in. Hence, laws and theories are imperfect by themselves, some appear to support and advance religion, while others contradict with it depending on how a person decides to argue his or her stand, and hence it is inaccurate to say science has definitely led to the religion's demise, it has only led to more rational thinkers and greater discussions between the two.

Moving away from the discovery of scientific laws and development of theories, the advancement of science has had a profound and direct impact on our lives, along with technological improvements that have led to the flourishing of technological advanced products like the smartphone and the personal computer that bring much convenience to our lives. Furthermore, the rise of Capitalism and the development of modern and sophisticated economies, where the advancement of science has played a heavy role in, have brought about a wave of prosperity to the educated people who have the ability to work in these jobs. In Singapore, research and development, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have brought about high-paying jobs for thousands of Singaporeans. This widespread usage of science and technology in its advancement has led to unprecedented lives of comfort and luxury, which could have led to the increasing secularism of the society, and a lower adherence of religion. In Singapore, the 2010 census reported a 2% increase in people who professed to have no religion. This may be because as people become more satisfied with their lives, they have less need or may even alienate their own religions as they have less requests or prayers to make to the deities. Instead, the people would prefer to seek policy reforms from the government to improve their lives. Furthermore, the emergence of science in the 21st century has led to a prevalent attitude that science is a cure-all for the problems of humanity, be it in solving global food shortages or climate change. This has led to a weaker faith in religion as people have waning confidence in the somewhat mercurial offerings from the gods as their prayers do not always seem to be answered. Hence, the advancement of science may have indeed led to a downfall in religion.

However, it would be false to claim that the advancement of science was the sole reason for increased rejection or skepticism in religion, since the political, economic and social environment of the world has evolved tremendously over the past 50 years. Furthermore, religion still has a stronghold in many countries like Indonesia, Iran and Saudi Arabia, where the majority of the populations are Muslims and some the country’s laws involves stringent adherence to Islamic teachings. Furthermore, there have been an increasing proportion of people converting to Muslims in Europe and the United States, in spite of the rapid scientific and technological developments there. In Asia, more people are turning to Christianity, partly due to the proliferation of religious exchange caused by the technological development of the Internet. Currently, 5% of the 1.3 billion people in China are Christians. It is interesting to note that while these countries have embraced scientific and technological advancements, the faith in a god or deities for many individuals still holds strong.

Furthermore, not all religions are at odds with science, because it depends on the requirements or commandments of the religion that believers that need to adhere to and how much the religion states about controversial issues. For instance, the Bible mentions that it is a sin to murder others, and that a life is the work of God that can only be terminated by God himself. Therefore, Christians have vehemently opposed scientific advancements that led to the possibilities of abortion and euthanasia which terminates life prematurely, or that of stem cell research which kills embryos by the justification of saving others. On the other hand, Buddhists believe in reincarnation and karma, where people would be reborn into better or worse lives after they die according to their deeds. Hence, there is little objective in preventing others from exercising their freedom of choice, as the dead will have new opportunities of life, while the “murderers” will be dealt with accordingly in their next lives. Often, it is only when advancements in science that cross the ethical boundaries that people hold strong that believers begin to feel outraged. Nobody would protest for the development of Internet websites or iPhone applications that allows them to find and read religious scriptures more conveniently, which in this case shows that scientific advancements can strengthen religious beliefs.

In conclusion, while it can be argued that scientific advancements have led to increasing secularism or even atheism in developed societies, I feel that there are many other factors that have led to the decline in religion. However, in some instances religion and science can actually coexist and thrive together, and they are not always in conflict with each other. Furthermore, as the world population becomes increasing educated, more rational thinkers will emerge which would encourage constructive discussions between science and religion, leading to a greater appreciation of both areas and allowing people to make their own personal judgments on the faith they choose to profess in. Hence, the advancement of science has not necessarily led to a decline in religion.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Euthanasia: The intentional killing by act or omission of a dependent human being for his or her alleged benefit. (If death is not intended, it is not an act of euthanasia)

Arguments For Euthanasia:

• It provides a way to relieve extreme pain
• It provides a way of relief when a person's quality of life is low
• Frees up medical funds to help other people
• It is another case of freedom of choice

Arguments Against Euthanasia:

• Euthanasia devalues human life
• Euthanasia can become a means of health care cost containment
• Physicians and other medical care people should not be involved in directly causing death
• There is a "slippery slope" effect that has occurred where euthanasia has been first been legalized for only
  the terminally ill and later laws are changed to allow it for other people or to be done non-voluntarily.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Poverty is the deadliest and most resilient disease in the history of mankind. Throughout the centuries of civilisation, poverty has been a resilient species that plagued through the society, infecting millions of unfortunate individuals as it swept through the nations, and bringing much suffering to mankind. Even in the modern society where the ideals of democracy, equality and the prized system of Capitalism prevails, it is difficult for individuals to overcome the vicious cycle of poverty due to the various circumstances that the individual and society faces.

Some people may argue that in the modern society, most individuals are entitled and have opportunities to climb the education ladder and improve their lives by getting higher paying jobs in the future. This can be seen in the past four decades for the Four Asian Tigers, namely, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Hong Kong, where the rapid development of the education system has provided opportunities for a generation of people and beyond to pursue secondary or tertiary education and as a result clinch higher value-added and paying jobs in the maturing economies. The GDP per capita of South Korea for instance, has increased from US$100 in 1962 to US$20000 in 2011. Slowly but surely, we can identify many other countries that are emulating these success stories and climbing their way out of poverty, especially in India and China where 400 million people have successfully climbed out of the poverty line of earning US$1.25 per day in the last 20 years.

However, it remains to be seen that many other countries, especially the developing African countries, are able to improve their education system and provide opportunities for more citizens to hold better paying jobs. Education in many countries are relatively inaccessible in many countries. One reason is that the government has insufficient funds to build enough schools for the population, which is the case for India where it has a staggering population of 1.1 billion people. Another reason is due to gender inequality, that young girls are not allowed to study in schools because of the strict cultures of the society and family. In Afghanistan, girls were not allowed to study under the Taliban regime, and even as the education system is being rebuilt by generous aids from international organizations, the process is difficult and painful as women are still perceived as the mother who takes care of the family and not work outside. Studies have shown that countries with improving female enrolment in education shown greater improvements in their GDP levels over the decades. Hence, the difficulty in establishing a sound education system for the millions of poor people worldwide has hampered the efforts in reducing poverty by providing better jobs for the people, let alone eradicate it.

A possible glimmer of hope for the world in eradicating poverty is through the system of Capitalism. With the advent of globalization and the increasing mobility of large multinational corporations worldwide, these powerful firms can make direct investments in the country and provide thousands, or even millions of jobs for the people in the country. For the developing countries, encouraging large corporations to set up factories or sweatshops here may provide paltry but significant income for a lot of citizens at home to have a higher standard of living than living as subsistence farmers. In Vietnam, huge shrimp farms has been developed along the Mekong river, which provides thousands of low-skilled jobs for its poor citizens instead of unreliable farm produce back at home. Due to these investments, Vietnam is now the 5th largest exporter of shrimp in the world today. This example highlights the powerful impact globalization and foreign direct investment has had in eradicating poverty. As the economy matures, the country would prosper as it increasingly shifts towards higher-skilled industries, like how Singapore has developed it's niche industries in biotechnology and life science research.

However, there are many factors that could hamper the influx of foreign direct investments to a country, and hence prevent the creation of jobs to eradicate poverty. Social and political unrest could result in the instability of the country, which discourages investment and the creation of jobs. In Sri Lanka, the decades of fighting between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lanka army have led to a slower growth in foreign investments, which hampers the economic progress of the country. People are unable to find jobs and it was difficult for people to work in the cities where there was armed conflict. Recently, the Arab spring in early 2011 has caused much instability in the region as rebels in many countries like Libya and Egypt attempt to overthrow their long-lived dictators by mass protests and heavy fighting with the armed forces. These events have not only brought out lots of foreign companies and increased unemployment, but has also caused a refugee crisis as thousands of foreign workers lose their jobs and flee the country. This hinders the progress to eradicating poverty as many people lost their jobs while job creation in these Arab countries have slowed down.

On the other hand, it could be possible that in the aftermath of the protests and the ousting of the rulers and the incumbent government, the economic development of the countries would be accelerated. If the social stability of a country is coupled with good governance from the new government, a new wave of economic and social reforms could be made that will open doors for new investments to enter the country and for citizens to be better educated, which creates a self-sustaining positive cycle of greater economic growth and social stability. With higher paying jobs and lower unemployment, poverty can then be eradicated. In the aftermath of the Tiananmen square protests of 1989, the Chinese government made huge economic and education reforms that benefited millions of Chinese residents, providing them with new opportunities to pursue better jobs, higher income, and climb out of the poverty cycle. Therefore, given the right conditions of a country and good public policies, it would only be a matter of time before poverty is eradicated from each country.

However, I think it is unrealistic, if not naive, to reckon that governments around the world will get their act together and implement effective and fair policies to benefit the masses. Many authoritative regimes still exist in the world today, and often in these countries the economy is in shambles as the governors do little to improve the education levels of the population or reform the economy to create higher paying jobs for its people. While North Korea is one familiar example that conjures a vivid image of poor and starving people due to the ailing economy, there are also many African countries that are ruled by dictators that monopolize the economy and have billions of dollars in assets while the people suffer from severe poverty. In fact, the recently ousted leader of Libya, Muammar Gadafi was found to have 30 billion of assets that are to be returned to the country. While the Arab Spring that culminated into the uprisings in Africa brings a glimmer of hope that lives will be improved, the truth is that it will be difficult to obliterate all the authoritarian regimes, let alone find a truly efficient and fair government to improve the lives of citizens. Even in allegedly democratic countries, corruption is still rampant in many countries, especially in large countries like India, where its sheer population makes it hard to clamp down on corrupt officials and governors that usurp taxpayer’s money and accept bribery for various reasons.

In conclusion, it will be very difficult for the world to truly eradicate poverty, even if it is possible. Before it can be realized, it will require many favorable conditions – good governance that is free of corruption to bring about economic reforms, educational opportunities for all, equality in society, social stability and also the immediate needs of citizens like having access to food and shelter. We could think of it as solving a scrambled Rubik’s cube, where each colour represents a condition to be fulfilled, and a long and tedious series of organized steps have to be taken in order to reach that goal.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Don't think anyone reads this... ah but since this is a SimCity 4 blog... what should I do with it? Add some of my city's pictures of course!!!

But there are too many... around 140 pictures

Monday, January 29, 2007

This was designed by myself. Blogskins by Jia Xuan (me) and its my first blogskin

*Delete if necessary*

Welcome to my blog!