Editor in Chief: Moh. Reza Huwaida Thursday, March 28th, 2024

The Worth of Scientific Approach

History is the witness that the societies that have pursued the habit of searching for knowledge have achieved success and development and that is the reason that they stand distinct from others. In fact, all the human beings would not have been successful in coming out of the caves and living in modern societies and states, and would still be worshipping the deities of rain, storm, fire and many others, had not they held the hands of true reason and discovery.
It is now an open secret that the inquisitiveness, research and investigation have the power of digging out the reality from the depths of the unknown. As a matter of fact, in the modern scientific world, research and investigation have supported human beings in piling stocks of reliable knowledge and information regarding every field of life. Now, the social, economic, technological, educational and cultural problems are no more threatening human beings the way they used to do as now they have the weapon of research and investigation.
The knowledge and information gained through scientific research and investigation can easily go through the test of reliability as they are gained through a thorough and formal process. They are not just based on the instincts, guesses, blind beliefs, superstitions and legends; they are basically the outcome of different steps that include making observation, building hypothesis, performing experiment and then the deriving the result. Therefore, the margin of error is very less in them – much lesser than the beliefs, guesses and myths.
Today’s developed nations, in fact, have understood the true worth of scientific research and investigation; therefore, they have adopted them in their education system. Their schools, colleges and universities are equipped with modern techniques of research. The student are, thus, required to follow those techniques and make their education as much practical as possible. They are not into systems where the students have to cram their lessons and subjects and they do not get any idea about what they are basically reading. Such systems are basically adopted by the countries that do not realize the worth of scientific research and investigation. And, it is also one of the reasons that such societies are backward and underdeveloped.
Our country Afghanistan is also one of the same. Our education system is not fully developed and the system that we have is not at all based on scientific approach. Our teachers do not completely comprehend what they teach and how they teach. They mostly compel the students to learn whatever is there in their text books. They even apply force and violence to do so. While the students who use their memories alone and can cram their subjects are the best students and they are the ones who get positions and afterwards lucrative jobs, but they are not able to have true awareness.
We also have madressahs, which are also based on the similar type of approach or even worse. The students are not taught different subjects and their education is totally based on single approach. They are, in the end, turned into blind believers who are ready to do anything for their beliefs which may not be based on truth or true teachings of religion.  
We, both in our individual and collective lives, need to adopt the approach that is nearer to the truth if not completely based on truth. Doing so will not only support us in our educational life but will also assist us in fighting so many social evils. If we adopt scientific approach towards our social problems they will be easier to handle. Unfortunately, we have been considering them as the curse of God, instead of realizing that they are the outcome of our own irresponsibility and negligence. We fail to understand the social processes and their dynamics and therefore fail to understand different issues and also fail to suggest solutions for them.
In today’s world of modernization when the other societies have done miracles through their knowledge we need to realize that the true knowledge is the one that makes us better and wiser human beings. It is not about getting positions and winning competitions but doing better as a social being. It must be completed through our transformation into higher beings. It must depict our reasoning and understanding capacities and must not turn us into parrots that can only repeat what they hear.

We, therefore, need to pattern our institutions, particularly the education institutions, on the basis of scientific approach and method; help our students and our people see their surroundings and the world with open eyes and open minds and thus understand the reason of their being and make efforts to improve themselves and their surroundings. It is what humanity demands from them as they are considered as the best of the living beings because of their capacity to think, reason and discover.