Great Construction

IS SCIENCE ALMIGHTY?

　　People today speak as if there were nothing that science cannot solve and they believe that science is universal medicine. But I would like to ask them whether or not science can solve the problems of morality, art or love. If science were able to solve the moral questions, people who graduated from the highest institution of learning should have been morally superior. However, the fact is that not a few of them commit bribery, infamous crime, etc., which tells clearly that science has only poor ability as to moral problems.

　　My next question is about art. This is surprising once again. When I look at the works of artists of the present time, in which science has made much progress, I am always struck with wonder, finding the fact that the works of the old-time artists, who lived several hundreds of years ago and did not know science, are far superior in comparison with the works of the present day artists.

　　What I find here the most interesting is love between men and women. How can we explain this matter scientifically? I think these three questions are of critical importance to human life; they require the answers for us most seriously. It is true that science is, though materialistically, making a great contribution to humankind, so I sincerely hope that it will make still more progress, but as I have mentioned, there are a number of problems which science cannot solve. Should these matters be left just for religion to take charge of? At this point, an idea occurs to me that what truly means the progress of human civilization is that both science and religion cooperate in a body to make things go ahead.
　

Miscellaneous Topics Related to Religious Faith, September 5, 1948 (the 23rd year of Showa)

This essay, or chapter rather, has previously appeared in translation once. The citation is given below for reference.

“The Power of Science,” A Hundred Teachings of Meishu-sama, no date, page 26.