1.2.5.1 Materialism’s Explanatory Value

Science is based on materialism.  Many scientists may still believe that there is a supernatural world that is beyond science, and that value judgements and political choices are outside science.  So science addresses at least the part of the Whole Universe that is materialist, even if there are other things that it cannot or declines to look at.

Modern science tells us the universe is a collection of myriads of events, as force carrying particles, gauge bosons and gravitons, carry quanta of energy between matter particles, fermions such as quarks and leptons.  For instance, photons carry the electromagnetic force between electrons to control the biochemical reactions which give rise to our five senses, our consciousness, and so on.

We cover the details of the relevant science in Part 2.

No science, religion or philosophy, can explain existence itself (See Chapter 1.3 Theology).

But here we can say that science has good materialistic explanations for all these:

●   why the universe is so flat, even though, as Einstein said, space time is curved;

●   how the different elements came to have the abundances they do;

●   how stars and planets came into being, including our solar system and Earth;

●   why the winds blow as they do, why it rains, why we have earthquakes;

●   how life works, how plants and animals get their energy, how species change;

●   how humans evolved from apes, why we lost most of our body hair, why we sweat;

●   how our brains work, how we learn and remember things;

●   how suffering entered into the world, why it will continue, and how to alleviate it;

●   how altruism, compassion and love evolved, and why they are not universal.

Science is also developing good explanations for some of the greatest remaining puzzles:

●   how life evolved on Earth from inanimate matter;

●   how consciousness evolved, especially in humans;

●   how we developed our sense of alienation and longing for connection.

History, long term global history, is also developing good explanations of how we got here:

●   why different civilisations developed at different rates;

●   why some countries have prospered and other have not;

●   what sort of governance promotes peace, prosperity and personal fulfilment.

Religious explanations that include supernatural or non-materialist beliefs cannot explain the wealth of detail that science and history can explain. 

Many religious people acknowledge that we can learn a lot from science and history, but also believe that these knowledge domains leave out, or simply cannot address, what is really important, such as values, meaning and purpose, life, and existence itself.  We discuss fundamentalist Christians’ specific problems with science and history in Part 4 (Religion), and in that Part we explain how religions don't actually provide the explanations they think they do, and science and history can address many of the issues religion says they can’t.