Explain what scientism is and describe two of the main arguments against it

In the contemporary world, daily experiences explicitly show that there is a strong connection between spirituality and medical practice. It is common in the current for person to come across a message that reads, “Please pray for me, I am headed for surgery today.” This clearly indicates that spirituality form part of believe in medical practices. Although people seek medical care, they also believe that medical care can only help when God intervenes. In addition, to medicine and spirituality, people believe that quality health care can only be achieve when practitioners are follow professional ethics to the later. In light of this, this paper delves into giving an in-depth explanation of Christian perspective of the nature of spirituality and ethics in contrast to the perspective of postmodern relativism within health care.

The Christian Perspective of the

Christians believe that God exists in three supreme uncreated persons, that is, God exists as the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In other words, Christians believe that God is a supernatural being existent in three different forms, all of which are beyond human being comprehension. The universe, according to Christians’ holy book was created by the three forms of God at the beginning of the world. Contrary to this perception held by Christians about the world, science holds a perception that contravenes the Christian one. Scientists believe that science holds the best ways of obtaining information from the world. However, the information from science is more of a relative idea, which demands scientists to conduct extensive research to come up with facts about the universe. On the other hand, religion, and Christians in particular, believe that God is the giver of everything in the world that people possess, including knowledge and wisdom. SSorajjakool et al. (2017) assert that in health care, individuals’ life and health are reflections of the mercy of God. Since people were created in the image and willingness of God, the nurse is supposed to treat patients as living objects, not non-living things.

On the other hand, postmodern relativism claims that there is no existence of truth in the whole world. It specifically asserts that the truth is invented instead of being discovered. In other words, postmodern relativism suggests that the personal purpose of humans is the only fact that exists. According to Sim (2019), the existence of the argument about what to be considered wrong or moral is the most explicit example of postmodern relativism. He specifically asserts that postmodern relativism tries to explain why other living things and non-living things are just as special as human beings. In other words, human beings should not be considered as special as they claim. Therefore, it is hard for a nurse to work in an environment that upholds postmodern relativism, or an environment where there are limited truth and facts, especially in a place murder is considered right.

Scientism and Arguments against It

Puca (2018) defines scientism as a perception held by people that everything can be explained from a scientific standpoint. The conservatives of this idea believe that science is real, and that the worship and praise of God are rituals. Besides, they believe that religious people seek information using traditions that were passed many years ago by the prophets of God. Puca (2018) affirms that scientism contravenes the idea of religion. He specifically states that scientism involves observation of variables and observables, to come up with a fact. Scientism also asserts that knowledge and wisdom can only be obtained through the intensive study of science, which is an exact opposite of Christian and religion (Puca, 2018). Science believes that death signifies the end of life and that there is no life after death. In other words, scientism does not believe in near-death concept and experience and concludes that there is no scientific evidence that explains near-death which makes it an idea that people just think about. Besides, scientism considers knowledge and human reason as possession of humans that are gained after experimental methods.

The idea that life exists after death and God controls life contravenes the argument of scientism discussed above. Those who believe in scientism claim that, although God is a supernatural being, His powers can be tested by science because it provides evidence on what we can see and physically appreciate (Puca, 2018). Besides, science distinguishes itself from supernatural powers associated with Christian beliefs. However, Christians and scientists only agree on one thing, which is the reincarnation process, and even this is yet to be proven.

Worldview Questions

The Ultimate Reality

The ultimate reality in my personal perspective as a Christians, is having a supernatural God, who encompasses the Father, and the creator of the universe and everything in it. I believe that God is responsible for giving humans freedom and the right of living in the world. In the world view perspective, humans are supposed to pray and follow the commandments of God that are stipulated in the bible. I believe that ultimate reality is a doctrine that enlightens people to choose life so that they may live. According to the bible, especially the book of Deuteronomy 30:19-20 persuades people to choose life so that they may live. It further explains that heaven and earth are witnesses of what a person chooses to do while living in the world. The verse makes me believe that there is a supernatural being in heaven who is responsible for controlling the universe, and this supernatural being is beyond the understanding of any human being and is responsible for making humans appreciate their existence.

Nature of the Universe

Fraser (2018) affirms that the nature of the Universe is not explained scientifically and no person has an idea of it at all. In my opinionated perspective, the idea of nature of the universe is tied to ultimate reality. As Christian I believe that the universe was created by God within six days before he had rested on the seventh day. I also believe that God created me and all other humans in his likeness and gave them the responsibility of taking care of the universe which is a shared world view. In other words, humans were created to be the disciples of God, who are required by God to passage his message to all generations to come. I believe that the Universe is an open space and because of this open nature, it was made to accommodate every creature. It is filled with gases, water, living and non-living things. The universe has oxygen which is essential for human and living things survival.

A Human Being

I propose to consider three prominent worldviews about humans. The first perspective is that human beings were created by God and placed to live on earth. Secondly, human beings are the most evolved species on earth. I also tent to believe that human being is the only creature in the universe with more developed brain capacity because they can interrogate questions and happenings. Human beings are the highly evolves inhabitants of the earth’s ecosystem. Just like everything else created and living on earth, the human being is products of chance and time. They are also products of evolution and survival and have a highly developed or evolved brain. A human being is creatures that are capable of self-reflection, language, art and music, and inductive imagination. The last perspective is that human beings are divine, spiritual beings that have become physical bodies. It is only death that can free their spiritual form to return to the divine world. My own view of human beings is that they are creatures of God, who were intentionally created. God created humanity in a more direct and immediate fusion in His image and likeness.

Knowledge

I believe that knowledge is the ability to have information from all reliable sources for future use. The information gained from different sources can only be knowledge it was obtained from trustworthy and known sources and known to the whole world. I also believe that that knowledge is the information gathered by an individual from reliable and trusted sources and set aside in my mind or brain for future use. The information gained needs to be reliable, trustworthy and know worldwide. In my opinion, a person can be tested on knowledge with a question and if they respond as required they are considered to be knowledgeable. I also believe that knowledge is never enough and a person can live a whole life gathering knowledge and more information. Knowledge in my understanding is information one gains and gathers since birth, through education and general experiences of life daily.

Basis of Ethics

According to Fraser (2018), ethics are the moral value that a person learns from parents, guardians, and society. I my opinion, ethics are set of rules that guide a person and limit their decisions down from wrong and right. Ethics is a vital tool in my life because they guide not only me but also the world in the right direction. I believe in Fraser (2018) assertion that ethics can be right if all engage in activities such as reporting the drug peddlers, reporting drunkards who drink and drive, and reporting corrupt leaders in society to the right authorities. It is through ethics that people like narcissists cannot run the world. In working environments, ethics allows professionals ensure the quality of services and equality in workplaces Fraser (2018). I think that ethics should not be just guidelines or rules that help society live in harmony, a tool that society should use to determine what to expect from a person.

Purpose of Your Existence

Many times in my life I always ask myself my purpose of living and the reason of my existence. It always make me feel strange and since the question keeps on coming to my mind, I always decide to contemplate on it because I believe as Aristotle once said, “Contemplation is the highest form of activity.” In my opinion, life works in mysterious ways and thanks, for me I found that my purpose of life is to love and love truly. To love without excluding anyone and then radiate that love outwards. The way I see it, life is love and love is life, the more love flows through our veins, the more joyful life becomes. The clearer our vision gets, and the easier it becomes to connect not only with our own heart and Soul but also with the heart and Soul of every living being that inhabits the planet

Conclusion

Medical practice and spirituality are two inseparable norms in health care. Although medicine is purely a science, it has everything to do with spirituality. The two can collaborate to ensure the healing process of a patient with religious beliefs is made possible. Although people seek medical care, they also believe that medical care can only help when God intervenes. In essence, not everything can be proven by science; some must be accepted through faith. Also, people should never believe in religion alone and get limited to it, but also try reasoning and appreciating science around them.

References

Fraser, N. (2018). Recognition without ethics?. In The culture of toleration in diverse societies. Manchester University Press.

Puca, A. (2018). Scientism and Post-Truth. Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religion (JBASR), 20, 83-99.

Sim, S. (2019). Postmodern Relativism: Jean-François Lyotard Versus Jacques Derrida. In Post-Truth, Scepticism & Power (pp. 97-123). Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.

SSorajjakool, S., Carr, M. F., Nam, J. J., Sorajjakool, S., & Bursey, E. (2017). World religions for healthcare professionals. Routledge.