Great Expectations and Science

Without any doubt, Barack Obama is an outstanding public speaker, and his speechwriters are equally gifted. . . . Here is a link to his inaugural address: Obama Transcript

One particular passage to pay attention to is this:

"We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology's wonders to raise health care's quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do."

A tall order for science. . . . Not only is it going to invent new ways to power our automobiles and industries, but it must return to it's "rightful place." This, to me, seems like an obvious endorsement of science as a form of power or authority. It must, apparently, be elevated beyond its competitors in the creation of knowledge.

Can we really expect so much of science? Should we endow it with so much power?

Compare this vision of science with the one portrayed by John F. Kennedy in his inaugural address:
Kennedy Transcript

"Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction. . . . Let both sides seek to invoke the wonders of science instead of its terrors."

Obviously, he is referencing nuclear weapons as the terror of science. . . . It seems odd that today, when we're likely to rely on science more than ever to address emerging problems, that this level of caution is almost completely absent. We still possess the power to destroy everything that sustains us. And yet, fear of this power has abated after just 45 years.