Science vs. Humanities

Do you agree with Henry's faith in science? In terms of the problems presented in Saturday, what can science solve, and what can it not? Can the humanities step in where science is limited? You must give at least two examples from your reading.

Henry’s belief in science is justified – he explains things that occur during his “day” and in other people’s lives with his knowledge of science. The conclusions he makes about other people – the girl outside his window in the early morning, Baxter, his mother – come from his scientific observations and hypotheses. He can predict what will happen to these people very precisely, based on his scientific observations. The humanities, though, can predict how other people will act, but not with total evidence; science – as presented by the narrator on account of Perowne – is more concrete and hardly conjecture at all. However, science cannot solve all the problems that occur in Perowne’s society and requires the humanities to step in.

Events in the book provide evidence as to why the humanities do have a role in people’s actions and the consequences that result from societal problems. When the airplane crashes, Perowne makes multiple assumptions about what it could be – a hijacking, a warning from a Middle Eastern nation; yet, none of these turn out to be true. Based on the current events, it would make sense for him to interpolate that the crash could be a result of the beginning of the war. However, he is not using scientific reasoning when he considers these possibilities. Later, he finds out the plane crash was actually caused by technical malfunctions. The plane crash can finally be explained through scientific reasoning – the way Perowne likes it. However, the consequence of the crash is the fact that more and more people are frightened by the onset of a war. Yet, so many – almost two million – are anti-war protesting in the streets. The problems that result from the crash are the point where the humanities must step in.

Another example that requires the humanities to step in occurs when Perowne visits his mother, an Alzheimer’s patient. He knows the course of the degenerative neurological disease – the decreased amount of memory, the loss of emotions, the confusion. Perowne, a neurosurgeon fully aware of the disease’s course, finds it hard to cope with his new emotions. He knows that in the coming months his mother will drift farther away, until she drifts out of this life. How does he cope with these new emotions of fear, uncertainty, and sadness? The humanities must step in because science does not solve these problems; it can explain the disease, but it cannot explain how one is supposed to react.