Scientific faith: social and cognitive aspects

Abstract

This study analyzes scientific faith through the lenses of its scientific, cognitive, and social potential. The paper aims to study the role of secular non-religious faith in contemporary social processes and individual cognitive formation. The research methodology includes systematic approach to demonstrate the relationship between individual’s cognitive settings and social reality; dialectical approach; analysis and synthesis, induction and deduction. Results: the transformation of traditional social relations leads to the popularization of non-religious secular faith, especially the scientific faith, which motivates to unprovably accept scientific and pseudoscientific positions as true for gaining an existential confidence. In addition to the social aspect, scientific faith has a high scientific and cognitive potential that leads to the irrational acceptance of the scientific understanding of the world, the axiomatic base, and each specific theory, as the closest to the absolute truth, which provides the researcher with a permission to use them. Conclusions: the high role of science and scientific technologies in contemporary society leads to the transfer of faith in science beyond the limits of scientific knowledge into everyday practice. Thus it turns into a powerful social phenomenon, responsible for transforming the image of science in mass perceptions into the undeniable ideal of truth. This confidence not only contributes to the comfortable existence of the individual; without it, an uncorroborated acceptance of the scientific axiomatic base and science as a whole as the closest to the truth is impossible. The lack of this confidence makes further scientific advance difficult.