SCIENCE AND WONDER
Anita plays host to Open Minds resident philosopher Jon Pike and special guest Professor Richard Dawkins. This week the subject is Science and Wonder - does a knowledge of scientific processes diminish our sense of wonder at the world?

Jon Pike read Politics, Philosophy and Economics at Trinity College, Oxford then studied for his doctorate at the University of Glasgow, where he went on to teach. He also taught at Stirling University before taking up his current post in the Open University's Philosophy Department. He is a Staff Tutor in Arts for the OU's South East Region and his speciality is political philosophy.

Some points raised by the discussion:
Jon Pike: For centuries people have felt the need to explain the order of the natural world and invented an intelligence behind it called God. However, people prefer the simple and economical explanations that science offers.

Professor Dawkins: The phenomenon of a number of simple processes building into complexity is still wonderful.

Jon Pike: Scientific explanations are either right or wrong - only secondarily are they good or bad. It’s how we apply this knowledge that can be dangerous, but to put restraints on research would be a mistake. It’s up to society to set a moral context.

Professor Dawkins: We should fear the technology that arises from science - it is powerful and we are right to fear it. We should fear anything powerful in a moral vacuum. However, I have no sympathy with people who fear knowledge for its own sake.

Jon Pike: Scientists are simply working out what is true. We all share responsibility for how this information is used.

Further reading
The Selfish Gene, Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press)
The Blind Watchmaker, Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press)
The Extended Phenotype, Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press)
River Out of Eden, Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press)
Climbing Mount Improbable, Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press)
Unweaving the Rainbow, Richard Dawkins (Oxford University Press)