How Science Destroyed Our Sources Of Meaning

Humans make sense of the world with stories.

Their first stories were ancient myths about gods. But as humans began to believe in reason and science, the ancient myths turned out to be unprovable.

In this way, science undermined the belief in ancient myths but sought to replace them with a new myth: the potential of human knowledge. For a time, humans believed that the more knowledge they possessed, the better humankind would become.

But, the more knowledge humankind acquired, the less evident it was that it had any goal or purpose at all. Consequently, science insisted that no purpose for humans existed.

But humans can’t live by rationality alone. It doesn’t offer the vital meaning that myths provide. Thus, science undermined the ancient myths as sources of meaning without providing other sufficient sources in return.

Hence modern man is left in a desert of meaningless scientific reason that can provide endless supplies of facts but no meaningful story to believe in.^[1]