Ideology and Science Flashcards
Complete the following sentence:
Globalisation means that people are exposed to _____ ideas, meaning that people may end up ______ their own religion and religious beliefs.
- Different
- Questioning
Complete the following sentence:
Ideology of _____ debates means that people may be seen as more concerned about politics rather than _____.
- Political
- Religion
Complete the following sentence:
People are turning towards medical science to deal with their medical issues rather than _____ because of the _____ in which science provides. However, this point can be counteracted with the idea that there has been an ______ in New Age and New Religious movements.
- Religion
- Evidence
- Increase
Complete the following sentences:
Up until the 18th century, the _______ ideology was religion and religion ______ society e.g. it influences the _______. However, in today’s society, many of our beliefs are based on the observations and _______ of science. In light of the increase in scientific thinking and belief and the decrease in religious thinking, the encyclopaedia was published.
- Dominant
- Underpinned
- Laws
- Theories
Based on which two principles was the encyclopaedia published?
1) The belief that reason could provide an understanding of the world.
2) Understanding can be used to improve the lives of human beings.
Complete the following sentence:
Religious explanations of the world ______ human thinking for many hundreds of years. They were ______ by the emergence of scientific ways of thinking during the 18th century that has become known as Enlightenment.
- Dominated
- Challenged
What evidence is there to suggest that science is the most dominant ideology in society?
Give at least three examples.
At least three from:
- Knowledge must be based on empirical evidence that is evidence that is observable (facts).
- Scientists must ignore their personal feelings and remain objective at all times.
- Scientific thinking should be rational and logical.
- Scientists’ observations and theories must be testable by other scientists.
- Scientific ideas create problems for religion: the existence of God cannot be proved, religious beliefs rely on faith rather than scientific evidence.
- Early commentators such as Frazer said that the growth of scientific explanations of the world would cause religion to disappear. As humanity discovered more about the real nature of the world, religion would decline and be replaced by solid scientific knowledge.
How can the argument that science is the most dominant ideology in society be evaluated?
- Critics of science argue that its progress and priorities reflect the interests of powerful groups, such as drug companies. For example, feminists argue that science reflects male assumptions and understanding of the world.
What arguments are there to suggest that religious ideology has not disappeared in influencing the way the world is?
Give at least two examples.
At least two from:
- There is debate whether or not it is in decline (secularization).
- Scientists cannot tell us how to live our lives and say little about things that matter a great deal to us: values, hopes, fears, aspirations, anxieties etc.
- Science is not able to make us feel comfortable.
How can the arguments that religious ideology has not disappeared, be evaluated?
- Marxists claim that religion justify inequalities in society and encourages passivity and acceptance of the status quo.
What arguments are there to suggest that religion and science co-exist?
Give at least two examples.
At least two from:
- Science and religion continue to exist side by side, but this is not without tensions.
- The United States is the most religious of the advance industrial democracies, however many American scientists are recognised as the leaders in many of the scientific research. Where scientific evidence and religious belief come into direct conflict, many Americans reject science in favour of the teachings of their faith traditions.
- Many sociologists have argued that both science and religion are ideological in that they work in the interests of the powerful groups.
Complete the following sentence:
While virtually all scientists agree that life on earth has evolved over billions of years, many Americans _______ reject the very idea of natural evolution, largely because it ______ with the biblical account of creation.
- Consistently
- Conflicts
Complete the following sentence:
Sociologists say that ideologies often _________, or justify, the position of the ________ groups in society. Marxists argue that these ideologies justify _______. For example, the beliefs that most people accept as ‘normal’ actually justify the power and the ________ of the ruling class and the ______ society that they benefit from - desiring wealth ‘is natural’ and helps ______ the capitalist system.
- Legitimate
- Powerful
- Capitalism
- Dominance
- Unequal
- Support
Complete the following sentence:
Science has had an enormous impact on society over the last few centuries. Its achievements in medicine have __________ many once fatal diseases. Many basic features of daily life today – transport, communications, work and leisure – would be unrecognisable to our recent ancestors due to scientific and technological _____.
- Eradicated
- Development
Complete the following sentence:
Science and technology have _______ economic ________ and raised our standards of living. This success has led to a _______ ‘faith in science’ – a belief that it can ‘deliver the goods’.
- Revolutionised
- Productivity
- Widespread
