Does science play a role in your life?
Do you value hard data and evidence? Do you think humans are good at proving things? Or maybe you defer to religion or culture to decide what is real?
I talk a lot about how science is over or undervalued. Some folks think science proves reality. Others think scientists are full of crap.
Regardless of how you feel about science, the scientific method is regarded as one of the best tools we have to help us answer questions. One of my favorite questions is,
“Is there a better way to live?”
This question is related to other questions like,
“Why are we here?” and,
“Why do humans suffer?”
I’m sure you have your own version of these questions, but few of us ever pursue this in a scientific way. This week’s podcast/video is my attempt at formalizing this metaphysical question in a physical way.
My work focuses on understanding how humans can suffer less.
Most of my interest lies somewhere in this personal and communal growth space, and much of my research falls outside the realm of hard science as we know it. But what if we took a more organized approach? What are we really trying to understand?
Briefly, science is a way to formalize how we ask questions and how we interpret the answers. We conduct experiments that convert the real world into numerical data, analyze the data using low-bias mathematical techniques, then convert the numerical results back into real-world terms. We ask a question, form a hypothesis, conduct experiments, and interpret results.
So, is there a better way to live?
Let’s convert that to a hypothesis:
Ha: If we nurture our individual and collective self-awareness, then this will trickle up to solve the world’s problems because self-awareness, or lack thereof, is the cause of human suffering.
Ho: If we nurture our individual and collective self-awareness, there will be no effect on human suffering because the two are unrelated.
Basically, do the ‘data’ we observe in the real world support or refute the idea that there might be a better way to live?
Of course, all science starts with a question that stems from our personal interest, solving a problem, or trying to understand something. For me, it is a key personal interest of mine to try and understand the human condition. It’s fun to poke around, think, read, and contemplate my naval, but it is mostly unofficial. This is just a fun way of formalizing, in scientific terms, what I am trying to do.
My work suggests that self-awareness as an upstream cause of human suffering.
Mostly, when we experience suffering we look nearby for causes and solutions. If we bleed we get a band-aid. But often the ultimate causes of our discomfort are farther away and more upstream.
If we are constantly getting cuts that require band-aids, maybe we should stop playing with knives, for example.
If we are constantly disillusioned with money, power, and status maybe we need to redefine our core values.
If we are always anxious in social situations, maybe we need to understand the trauma we experienced in childhood.
Personally, as I have pieced together my anxiety, I see that the causes are much more upstream than I ever imagined. Real solutions are often much farther away from the problem than we think. Scientific investigation is a tool designed to help clarify these relationships.
Moving forward, I can look for evidence that supports or refutes my hypothesis.
Eventually, I will have ‘enough’ evidence to either abandon the idea (fail to reject my null hypothesis) or continue to pursue this line of reasoning.
The beauty of science is not that it proves anything. Rather, science helps us understand our realities by guiding us toward more likely causes. These relationships, in turn, help us understand ourselves and each other.
The more we understand the links between self-awareness, attention, mindfulness, and connectedness the more likely we are to reduce personal and collective suffering.
Our ancestors paved the way for our amazing individual lives. The least we can do is make the most of it. Do wars, anxiety, and suicide sound like making the most of it to you?
There is a better way. Together, we are learning what it is.
Streaming podcast audio:
https://www.buzzsprout.com/530563/15032705
YouTube video:
For more about what science really is see here, and here, and here.