Cogent Social Sciences (Dec 2022)
A conceptual analysis of how science, religion, and culture interact and influence each other in polities
Abstract
One of the nineteenth century’s leading sociologists, Auguste Comte (1798–1857) argued that all political communities—irrespective of geography, race, or ideological inclinations—in their efforts to make sense of the world, pass through similar developmental and evolutionary stages: the religious stage is usually the first, and is followed by the metaphysical stage and later ends in the scientific stage. Weaving from Comte’s paradigms, this paper aims to demonstrate the utility of the interactions among the three study areas of science, religion and culture and the influence that each one of them yields over the others in polity governance. Most significantly, their reciprocal relationship is emphasized. However, one of the pathologies surrounding the study of these three topics is the controversy that they generate among scholars: some researchers argue that science is a stand-alone concept, which should be delinked from the other two knowledge-seeking endeavors. The ground for their argument is that unlike religion and culture, scientific premises are—in principle—falsifiable. Other scholars argue to the contrary: that there is, in fact, a close connection among the three study areas, which helps to sustain human life. In bridging these research trajectories, this paper argues in favor of the latter argument, which acknowledges the reciprocal roles that each one of these endeavors play in enhancing the others. This position is also in synchronicity with Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s standpoint that the ontology of human nature is best understood from the prism of integration, adaptation, and cooperation rather than from competition and contestation. Although the comparative analysis of the three study areas reveals both the homogeneities and contrasts among them, the study concludes that science, enriched with philosophical underpinnings from culture and religion offers the best radar for optimal social development. In discussing the issues articulated, this paper adopts a mixed method of enquiry consisting of both the quantitative and qualitative methods. The paper also draws on secondary methods of enquiry through academic journals, scholarly books, and online publications.
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