Are scientific inventions making us happier ?

One of the most popular questions which is often asked is: “Are scientific inventions making us happier ?” Science today has given us such comforts as were unimaginable years ago. Today we switch on the radio and listen to music, We have electricity, telephones, televisions, washing machines, refrigerators, air-conditioning plants and a host of other gadgets. All these things have made the life of man very easy and comfortable. The flush-lavatories, shower-baths, electric fans, cinemas, cars, trams and “planes” are among other scientific inventions which have increased the ease and happiness of, mankind. Science has made traveling easy and efficient. The world has become small for us. But those exciting adventures and romances which traveling gave us in the past have all disappeared. Modem traveling is a dull business.

People who live in big cities like New York or London have benefited in some ways and lost in many other ways. The city people do not have any leisure. Their life is so busy and mechanical that they do not have any time “to stand and stare” as well as to see and appreciate the beauties of nature. Their lives have become artificial, devoid of charm and delight. Modern age is an age of science. As science is advancing it is at the same time thwarting our civilization. In the world of science, the words love, emotion and sentiments are quite foreign. So what is the use of science to man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul ? Spiritualism is on the wane while materialism is on the increase. Philosophy, culture and love are rapidly fading from the surface of the earth because of the advancement of science.

On the destructive side, science has invented weapons which are dreadful and disastrous. The invention of U-boats, Rockets, Atom Bombs, Hydrogen Bombs and other harmful nuclear devices have increased the chances of human destruction. Thus, if these weapons of science are misused. they would spell disaster for entire mankind. This is the peak of scientific civilization. Thus the opinion generally remains divided on the above subject. No one can claim that science is beneficial or a complete curse. While a scientist makes inventions, a politician misuses them. Mainly, it is this wrong application of scientific inventions by the politician which has brought humanity to a bad state. In this respect science has dehumanized us. Nowadays we have better drugs and surgical instruments but men are becoming weak constitutionally. What an irony of fate it is ? Today, we have a sensitive ‘heart’, a sensitive ‘lung’ and a sensitive liver’ due to fast speed, smoky atmosphere and dusty roads.

Thus science, while it makes mankind happy by its latest achievements, also makes it unhappy when it shows its destructive power. But, broadly speaking, science can be used for happiness but the mad mind of the man and particularly of the politician misusing the discoveries of science, makes us unhappy.