Are you superstitious?
If the scientist can be superstitious or can he have respect for superstitions?
Can a scientist completely ignore superstitions if he does not research them scientifically?
Are superstitions an atavistic element of culture?
Are they atavistic remnants of the ancient times when people have explained the occurrence of puzzling, unrecognized scientific atmospheric, climatic, cosmic phenomena, etc., explaining this by the action of higher, supernatural forces, etc.?
Please reply
I invite you to the discussion
Thank you very much
Best wishes
I am not superstitious, and I think superstition is completely contrary to the scientific spirit. But, at same time, a scientist should also not completely ignore superstitions, and, if possible, study them closely. An attitude that is present, for example, from the origin of Medicine, with Hippocrates, when he studied epilepsy, “sacred illness” as it was known: are well known Hippocratic condemnations against all those interpreted illness as a result of divine anger.
Of course a scientist can be highly superstitious against religion for example. He can also suffer severely from OCD and must calculate windows on one side of the street or must jump over certain stones on the street, or need to see a certain number on a car in order to get a "happy" day:)
I am not superstitious, and I think superstition is completely contrary to the scientific spirit. But, at same time, a scientist should also not completely ignore superstitions, and, if possible, study them closely. An attitude that is present, for example, from the origin of Medicine, with Hippocrates, when he studied epilepsy, “sacred illness” as it was known: are well known Hippocratic condemnations against all those interpreted illness as a result of divine anger.
I'm moderately superstitious. I like to think that superstitions are the continuation of a Weltanschauung in which all the things of the world are linked together in a network. If Kuhn is right, we have little reason to consider the current Weltanschauung superior to the previous one.
A scientist search everything, trying to explore everything, but not accept anything. A scientist always asking.
I have a very simple recipe, which works all the time: fingers crossed, and luck will stay with you, a bit of garlic and the devil (but also every person of interest) will stay away from you, give an evil eyes to others, and you will prevent curses.
Have a good laugh now, if you are a scientist, and if you can't, don't try to be one.
Lol
"(...) But superstition hath been the conclusion of many states; and bringeth in a new primum mobile, that ravisheth all the spheres of government. The master of superstition is the people; and in all superstition, wise men follow fools; and arguments are fitted to practice, in a reversed order. I was gravely said, by some of the prelates, in the Council of Trent, wher the doctrine of the schoolmen bare great sway; that the schoolmen were like astronomers, which did feign eccentrics and epicycles, and such engines of orbs, to save the phenomena; though they knew, there were no such things: and, in like manner, that the schoolmen had framed a number of subtle and intricate axioms, and theorems, to save the practice of the Church. The causes of superstition are: pleasing and sensual rites and ceremonies; excess of outward and pharisaical holiness; over-great reverence of traditions, which cannot but load the Church; the stratagems of prelates for their own ambitions and lucre; the favouring too much of good intentions, which openeth the gate to conceits and novelties; the taking an aim at divine matters by human, which cannot but breed mixture of imaginations; and lastly, barbarous times, especially joined with calamities and disasters. Superstition , without a veil, is a deformed thing; for , as it addeth deformity to an ape, to be so like a man; so the similitude of superstition to religion, makes it the more deformed. (...)There is a superstition , in avoiding superstition; when men think to do best, if they go furthest from the superstition fomerly received: therefore, care would be had, that (as it fareth in ill purgings) the good be not taken away with he bad; which commonly is done, when the people is the reformer."
Sir Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Essays ("Of Superstition")
True scientific attitude always act against all types of superstition.
But in reality, it is not easy to be free from all kind of suspensions, as they develops during the growing stage of life (from childhood).
As example, almost all researchers have deep trust on everything considered as true in his/ her religion.
But there are many things in each and every religions which are impractical and nothing but some superstitions.
It is not easy to identify them as some superstitions by the concerned researcher.
Even existence of ghost, demon, angel etc. are considered as true by many researchers and many questions/ discussions are there in Research Gate forum regarding them!!!!
Scientists seek the truth and truth only. Seeking the truth is highly challenging. You need to put a lot of commitment, patient, passion, and sacrifice to it. Facts or hypotheses are verified with "true data" before they are established. I do not think a good scientist will just swallow fact. Science goes beyond "seeing and believing".
Just like being a scientist and being religious are not mutually exclusive, believing in superstition and being a scientist are also not mutually exclusive. One can be highly rational yet childhood influences and upbringing can foster superstitious and irrational beliefs.
Superstitious is a belief which individual can play with his mind & brain by thinking related to his belief which has no base.
This is my personal opinion
We are people of different background l, culture and tradition.
Superstition is the implicit aknowledgement of the human thinking process that accept the fact that our knowledge and understanding of nature is incomplete , we cannot control what we do not fully understand, this lack of control of things have led to concept of existence of
hidden natural forces that cannot be controlled but can be appeased through human actions.
Science on the other hand seeks to push the boundary of our knowledge and understanding forward , through logical reasoning and deduction based on observation and experimentation, thereby reducing the domain of our ignorance, and striking out the prevalence of superstition from human lives.
I believe every human being is rational as well as superstitious to certain extent, rationality comes from what we already know, understand and in a sense can predict, superstition comes from our ignorance and lack of understanding.
We are different and trust comes from upbringing, religious views, personal attitude, fatigue .....................
I'm superstitious, of course. I even have a special dream after which things happen. I believe that on the way to work if I listen to certain music, the event during the day will be successful.
Science disagrees with superstition but magic happens. Science cannot explain magic.
"Then just take a look round and make sure that none of the uninitiated overhears us. I mean by the uninitiated the people who believe that nothing is real save what they can grasp with their hands and do not admit that actions or processes or anything invisible can count as real." (Socrates in Plato's Theaetetus)
Not really clear, what superstition all includes. If we include many aspects of the supernatural it might just be that so far it is beyond scientific perception and explanation, but sometime in future it will be understood and becomes 'natural'
I think to do a constructive project you should forget the superstition
No, I'm not superstitious, but sometimes soberly think about something when all the other people around me are superstitious in the same.
Based on game theory, two theoretical biologists recently developed a model which they think can show how superstitious beliefs get established in a community's social norms. I take you to the source.
https://penntoday.upenn.edu/news/how-superstitions-spread
Scientist formulates statement, hypothesis; gathers materials for practical experimentation to prove the guesses or facts in question (in physical sciences, the budget may be huge as per proposal); follow procedures; carry out rigorous analyses of data acquired from the experiment; discuss results and generate conclusions and produce evidence or evidences as the case may be. So in that way, facts are established. superstition has no established procedure to follow. Just swallow the facts! No questioning!
Dear Friends and Colleagues of RG,
If the scientist can be superstitious or can he have respect for superstitions?
Can a scientist completely ignore superstitions if he does not research them scientifically?
Are superstitions an atavistic element of culture?
Are they atavistic remnants of the ancient times when people have explained the occurrence of puzzling, unrecognized scientific atmospheric, climatic, cosmic phenomena, etc., explaining this by the action of higher, supernatural forces, etc.?
Please reply
I invite you to the discussion
Thank you very much
Best wishes
Don't modern scientists explain natural phenomena by the action of supernatural agents (e.g., electron, photon, and other virtual, non-existing elementary particles)? How does light, or more correctly, illumination, "travel" through space? What is a more fitting metaphor: "a child in a middle of a pond flapping its arms and thus creating waves that reach the shore" or "aether perturbation" or "photons"?
What difference does it make if the first principles are called "gods" rather than "first principles," if both refer to the same agents? What is a more skillful approach, personification or the lack thereof?
Dear readers,
I am replying with a question. Do inexplicable phenomena and coincidences exist?
Regards ...
I think that structured knowledge (including science) and beliefs are different facets of the mind of everyone, and they are both necessary. Beliefs help us keeping our emotional stability.
Concerning superstition, it is usually connected with deep zones of our subconscious and has a psychological meaning that is no apparent. I agree with s. Béatrice Marianne that it usually indicates OCD traits. For instance, when a person avoids passing below a ladder, he/she is likely preventing the development of stressing thoughts, even when he/she does not realize it.
Furthermore, not all true knowledge must be scientific (e.g., all philosophy), and science is just a provisional knowledge which is more supported by statements and interpretations than by facts.
Can I recommend the following recipe: when someone is casting you an evil spell, you put your hands in your pockets and cross your fingers.
It has worked in practice for me so far, since I am still speaking to you on researchgate which means that I have survived spells and maledictions.
QED
Or LOL?
i avoid putting anything on top of a book; i prefer going around things rather than going over them, not to mention stepping on them; i try to avoid stepping on writings/paintings on the sidewalk; i bow to a Buddha statue every time i walk by it; i bow to a Jesus on a cross whenever i see one; i bow to trees at random; i high-five tree branches at random when i am running; sometimes i bow to a toilet bowl after use; when i enter/leave a forest, i bow to the entire forest and i make a specific hand sign (whose origin i don't remember). All thoughts and actions matter. There is not a single thought or a single action without an effect. Just because the effect is not quantifiable is not a proof of the absence of the effect. Why? Because the source of the phenomenal realm is not physical. (And the Buddha and Jesus symbols both point to the origin.)
When i realized that my refrigerator makes the same cracking noise as my spine, i laughed and bowed to the refrigerator. Yes, even a refrigerator has its own identity (and a proper share of consciousness).
Most processes, phenomena and knowledge appeared superstitious prior to understanding them. At one time, people considered scientists as superstitious, when they said earth is a sphere, earth pulls us down, etc. Things appear supernatural till we understand their mechanisms. Spirits, ghosts, atma, etc that are fundamentals of spirituality and yet remain unexplained by material sciences. Superstition is basically fear of the unknown or un-understood. Why would any one expect any scientist not to be superstitious till he/she understands every thing, as there has come end of science. We believe what science has discovered, yet we need not be fools to challenge what science has yet to discover.
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