Richard Feynman Argument

“To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens the gates of hell”. This is a quote that Richard Feynman uses in his arugument of “The Value of Science”. This topic is very controversial, and he mentions this in the beginning of his argument. Feynman uses very sophisticated language with science terms, but also colloquial language with words like “dumb”. Although it is understandable that Feynman is arguing, he also almost attacking those who do not understand science the way he does. In the beginning of Feynman’s argument he mentions what people what scientists to do—which is to figure out society. They find that scientists are “wasting” their time on topics that “most” do not care for, rather than figuring

Feynman’s response to this is, “We do not put full-time effort into them because we know we won't have any magic formula for solving problems, and social problems are much harder than scientific ones”. Feynman’s response is straight to the point and very easy to understand, and it seems like he may be saying it nicely until he uses an example to why they do not solve social problems, “I believe that a scientists looking at nonscientific problems is just as dumb as the next guy”. This is also a great example of how Feynman attacks those who do not understand science the way he does. Then Feynman begins to list three values of science, that do make sense to an average person. The first value is science can produce knowledge which then enables power to do either good, or bad. He then uses the quote I first mentioned, and explains how a man from a Buddhist Temple shared that quote with him. The second value of science is intellectual enjoyment. Feynman does explain that this may not mean much to those who do not like science, but we do like something—whether it be saving peoples lives as a doctor, or leading worship at a church, we like what we like and we cannot help it. Feynman then goes on a tangent of the endless things he