Humanities Vs Science by Dr. Radhakrishnan

Humanities vs Sciences            

-- S. Radhakrishnan

Dr. Radhakrishnan was an Indian philosopher and statesman who was the second President of India. Since 1962, his birthday is being celebrated in India as Teachers' Day on 5^th September.

According to Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the three obstacles in the way of national development are ignorance, disease and poverty. By eradicating ignorance, the other two can be eradicated. Educated people, who have competence and skill, sense of direction and a social purpose, can transform the world.

Technological education

 Dr. S. Radhakrishnan points out that technological education without the complement of humanistic studies will be imperfect and deficient. Science divorced from moral values is not acceptable. Therefore, he recommends an integrated study of humanities and sciences.

Science is both knowledge and power. It has interest as well as utility. It demands discipline and hard work. It develops an attitude of tolerance, open-mindedness, freedom from prejudice and hospitality to new ideas. It shows us the richness of the world. Scientific knowledge is essential in the modern world. However, science must be oriented in the right direction.

Humanities

Humanities are equally important because they tell us about our own nature and how we have a deeper meditation over the subject of life. In addition to technological knowledge, we need wisdom and humanism. In the ancient times Indian wisdom was connected to the wisdom of other parts of the world. For example, in the field of medicine or mathematics we find the influence of the Greek, the Roman and the West Asian. Our religion emphasizes the concept of “Tat tvam asi” (That art thou).

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan focuses on two important principles:

1.    We are members one of another.

2.    There is no decree of God or man which compels us to be sick and hungry.

Search for Truth

God is Truth and so the search for Truth is the search of God. The advances in science were brought about by different people such as Newton, an Englishman, Kepler, a German, Copernicus, a Pole, and Galileo, an Italian. All the discoveries prove that both science and religion travel together. Truth is indivisible.  Whether it is historical truth, scientific truth, literary truth, the approaches may be different, but the ultimate gain is the same. The problem with universities is that they produce either seers or men with mechanical skills. A blend of the two is possible.

Conclusion

All disciplines lead to one end, that is, the growth of wisdom. It is not weapons that destroy us but lack of wisdom that creates problems. Increase of knowledge alone is not sufficient. The aim of an institution is to help an individual attain self-awareness. Knowledge of the self is the greatest science. An education that does not orient a student is not desirable. It should help an individual to approach life positively with a human heart.