Issue41 [戮力同心小组]第一次习作 Lsofia

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41. Such non-mainstream areas of inquiry as astrology, fortune-telling, and psychic and paranormal pursuits play a vital role in society by satisfying human needs that are not addressed by mainstream science.


In this era of rapid social and technological change, people put more effort into the research of mainstream science such as math, physics, chemistry, especially during this hundred years. After Industrial Revolution, an overall positive impact was made by numerous individuals who had devoted themselves into certain fields of science searching, which, to some degree, accelerate the development of the whole society. At the same time, non-mainstream areas of inquiry are gradually getting out of their traditional stage, and being replaced by the new technology that can bring more practical benefits to human beings. And, in my view, they no longer play a vital role in modern society and this trend will definitely continue for next centuries.
Admittedly, such non-mainstream areas of inquiry respond to certain basic human needs. It stimulates human’s interests toward nature and their strong desire to predict the future. Over the years, societies have developed various ways to try to divine the future. Some groups attempted to acquire insight into events through magic or contact with the supernatural. To do this, they might have read portents in the entrails of animals or in tea leaves. In ancient Rome, generals used these methods to calculate their likely success in upcoming battles. Reliance on patterns of stars as a means of predicting personal futures also developed early on.
The prosperity of astrology and fortune-telling reflect people’s lack of responsibility. When they have to make choices or they can’t find a proper approach to a longtime unsolved problem, they turn to the stars or tarot cards, hoping that these can give them a “perfect” answer. If it just turns out to be a right one, their rely on astrology and fortune-telling will step on the juice. But if it has been proved to be a wrong decision, they may attribute the failure to god, thinking it is” the god’s order” and it is none of their business. Some people try to find spiritual comfort by the other two sorts. They stand to the point that every individual has an afterlife, though his body is dead, his soul still exists and will be passed on by reincarnation. The person who has lost his loved prefers believing their spirits will be together forever, not want to accept the fact that they have already been apart.
In sum, I concede that the non-mainstream satisfies some human needs that are not addressed by mainstream science, but when people choose to utilize them, making sure that their reason and logic not be delude .However, the fact is, people try to make some reasonable explanations through non-mainstream instead of analyzing by their own judgment, which, always bring a irreparable result. In my view, the harm they do  to the participants and society far outweighs the satisfactory they bring to people’s mental needs.      


[ 本帖最后由 Lsofia 于 2007-7-28 11:32 编辑 ]