by Science is a cemetery of dead ideas. ~Miguel de Unamuno, The Tragic Sense of Life, 1913
When I browsed through the list of quotes about science, Miguel de Unamuno’s analogy regarding science immediately caught my attention. The quote is from Miguel de Unamuno’s book The Tragic Sense of Life (1913), which said that “science is a cemetery of dead ideas.” After ruminating the words, I agree with this interesting analogy. Although science could be seen as the advanced and abstractive subject that promotes and facilitate one’s life in society, it could be better be depicted as the collection of past ideas and hypothesis, the gravestone of some lost thoughts, and the stimulator of solemnity and respect.
The analogy between science and the cemetery is appropriate as they all share the characteristic of inclusion. Specifically, science is a collection of human beings’ progressive thoughts and hypotheses based on intriguing facts on earth.
The development of hypotheses and theories of evolution throughout the history of science reflects the nature of science as a cemetery. In those earlier ages, the scale for organizing all lives based on observations is proposed. As time went by, binomial nomenclature by Carolus Linnaeus in the 18th century emerged. Lamarck’s hypothesis about evolution by acquired characters followed, and Darwin and Wallace’s evolution by natural selection eventually came out and was accepted as the theory of evolution until now.
“Great Chain of Being”
Thus, it is clear that science not only embraces the validated thoughts but also carries the ones that were proven wrong as the “dead ideas” help guide new generations to explore more in the scientific field.
Besides, thoughts about heliocentric and geocentric theories are another example of the inclusiveness of science. The innate curiosity drove people to explore the world and space beyond the horizon. Ancient Greek “scientists” proposed the geocentric theory, which was generally accepted for a long time. Gradually, inquiries and questions came out regarding this theory. Nicolaus Copernicus, in 1515 stated that “the Earth was a planet like Venus or Saturn, and that all planets circled the Sun.” From then on, more followers in science question the original geocentric theory: Galileo discovered evidence to “support Copernicus’ heliocentric theory when he observed four moons in orbit around Jupiter. (NASA) “Johannes Kepler founded the laws behind the heliocentric theory, which are still used today. After that, with the foundation of Kepler’s laws, Newton explained why the planets moved as they did around the Sun eventually, marking the acceptance of the heliocentric theory as the right astronomical model.
Nicolaus Copernicus’s Radical Theory of the Universe
As the examples show, the development of hypotheses persisted across history, reflecting the science’s inclusiveness as a feature. The circuitous progress of theories embraced plenty of ideas and contentions over hundreds of years. Moreover, without the inclusion of all the ideas in the history of science, we could not reach a consensus or a clear answer to questions about the environment and elements in our lives. Thus, science’s characteristic as the collection of past failed hypotheses, and currently accepted ideas are the same as the quote depicted.
The analogy is also appropriate since it catches one exciting characteristic of science: there are many secrets and thoughts buried in science for different reasons.
Science developed as time went by, but disruptions in science’s progress occasionally occurred throughout history, which caused the loss of records and mute of people’s voices. The church’s ruling during the Medieval Period is a striking example. During that time, new scientific thoughts and hypotheses were denied and eliminated from the public because the church feared the authority’s loss. Simultaneously, plenty of books were destroyed. Also, during the cultural revolution in China, much scientific research was halted, and records were eliminated or destroyed. Unfortunately, those precious disappeared ideas and records in science could not be recovered.
The tragic and inevitable loss of some people’s voices and ideas in science is expressed exquisitely by Unamuno’s analogy of science as a cemetery. In other words, the gaps remained hidden in the field of science, and that is one interesting characteristic of science.
Additionally, the cemetery’s analogy is proper because it shows the power of science for evoking respect and solemnity. From my perspective, respect and solemnity arose from people’s hearts similar to those when visiting a cemetery.
Every word in scientific research reflects the scrutiny based on repetitive lab work and experience, which should stimulate the solemnity and respect in one’s heart. For instance, when Gregor Mendel tried to understand the mechanism of inheritance from his peas’ experiments, he had to record every tiny detail, as there were no clues about the mechanism before his experiments. Thanks to Mendel’s patience during the exploration, we could gain more knowledge of genetics. In this case, one would indeed have a solemn feeling when viewing this part of science.
Similarly, discovering the new element in chemistry could explain the same nature of science as the catalyst of people’s respectful and solemn emotions. Marie Curie’s repeated separations of various substances in the pitchblende finally led to Radium’s discovery. As one reads through the arduous work, a sense of respect would naturally emerge.
Marie Curie In Her Lab
The prompted respect and solemnity by science are well-crafted in the quote thanks to the cemetery analogy. As Miguel de Unamuno reveals, science is like a cemetery because of its similar characteristics of inclusion, potential guidance for the future, and the evocation of respect and solemnity.
Works Cited
Marie Curie: Her Story in Brief, history.aip.org/history/exhibits/curie/brief/index.html. Accessed 26 August 2020.
Riebeek, Holli. “Planetary Motion: The History of an Idea That Launched the Scientific Revolution.” NASA, NASA, 7 July 2009, earthobservatory.nasa.gov/features/OrbitsHistory. Accessed 26 August 2020.
Sloan, Phillip. “Evolutionary Thought Before Darwin.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Stanford University, 17 June 2019, plato.stanford.edu/entries/evolution-before-darwin/. Accessed 26 August 2020.
Time Life Pictures. New Scientist, www.newscientist.com/people/marie-curie/. Accessed 26 August 2020.
Valades, Didacus, and Rhetorica Christiana. Wikipedia, 13 Jan. 2020, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Chain_of_Being_2.png. Accessed 26 August 2020.