Lingering Thoughts On Theory

Yesterday evening, I watched a rerun of Oprah promoting the Dr. Suess book-turned-movie, Horton Hears a Who. Briefly describing the movie, Oprah coins, “Just because you cannot hear, see or touch, something, does not mean it doesn’t exist.” This statement reminded me of the development of accepting the idea of atoms. In Classics 10, Greek and Roman mythology, I learned of Greek philosophers, who simply stated that everything is comprised of tiny particles, arbitrarily calling these particles, atoms, long before microscopes and scientific research could prove so. In attempt to understand the world around us, we create theories, explored through either science or language. In Classics 10, I also learned about Greek myths, in which the actions of the Gods, explain both the hardships and fruitfulness in life. Yet no Greek citizens actually witnessed Zeus or Aphrodite while drinking at symposium--perhaps in a drunken stupor. I do not view theories as facts, rather, explanations for something not quite rationalized by anything else and not yet falsified. Both science and philosophy, initially look at something as a whole, then pull it apart, and more difficultly piece everything back together.