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Arts, science and technology as mind capital in modern civilization
The meaningful role arts, science and technology play in each person and in society, suggests they could be interweaved to create a richer and more versatile fabric of today’s humanity.
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This image dated April 7 was taken with the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) radio telescope of diffuse emissions of material in a galaxy cluster. (AFP)
I
t was early in the morning, very quiet, the weather was clear and calm. I was looking toward the west from a good enough altitude that allowed me to see rolling hills and faraway mountains. Yonder, the full moon was about to set. A faint white disk over a bluish sky.
I was lucky with the weather. Lucky for the real relation I have with human beings of aeons ago, who did not know how to ignite fire and thus only had natural light coming from the sky, or perhaps fireflies and volcanic eruptions.
I feel this strange yet wonderful emotion whenever I look at our moon, stars and planets at night, with my own naked eyes, knowing that those early people must have seen the same celestial bodies.
Our practical dependence on the sky has not changed much if at all. These ancient people were in awe, just like us now. I am sure they thought the sky was beautiful, although I do not have any idea what that means.
While it is undoubtedly subjective, the adjective beautiful must emanate certain commonality that it permeates across different subjects. Particularly interesting subjects that breathe the soul of beauty are arts, science and technology, the three human products that may be taken as benchmarks of civilization.
The meaningful role arts, science and technology play in each person and in society, suggests they could be interweaved to create a richer and more versatile fabric of today’s humanity. For that, it is imperative to understand each of them and find virtues they share.
What immediately comes to mind is the conservative view in which they carry different, though not necessarily separate, assignments from humanity: Arts to express, science to know and technology to serve. It is obvious that beauty seems to be the common denominator for the three. Beauty is inherent in arts, science and technology, whether or not the manifestation is transformable.
