Gecheng Zhang/ Gressin
Basic Composition
Assignment #1 Final Draft
September 19th 2013
Reconciliation of conflicting ideas
In the essay “In the Forests of Gombe” by Jane Goodall, Goodall thinks that she can use the religion as another way to explore the nature in the basis of science. This essay tells people that they can separate two conflicting ideas by avoiding some conflicting details and fully understanding both of them. As for the religion and science, people don’t have to stick to the difference between God and no God; instead they can look into the useful parts of religion to improve science. The avoidance of unessential parts and combination of each other’s advantage is the best way to analyze two or more conflicting ideas. There are three steps to succeed in reconciling two incompatible ideas: to understand these two ideas thoroughly, to admit the multiple feasibilities to success including both of them and to utilize their strengths and avoid the conflicting parts.
First, what people should do to reconcile two disparate beliefs is get to know both two beliefs totally. If someone does not even understand two complicated beliefs, he will only stand for the belief which he accepted first. Although first impressions are very important, when two ideas conflict with each other in a person’s mind, he will choose the one which he understands better. In the essay, there is one period that Goodall distrusted and even hated the God after her husband Derek’s death. When people meet huge loss, they become distrustful of their former beliefs. Derek’s death of cancer urged her to abandon her belief in religion. Science told her religion was just useless to save her husband’s life. At that period, she could not separate the two beliefs because she did not understand the religion totally. She got her belief back and totally understood the religion later. Goodall found her joyful coexistence with the chimpanzees, the forest of Gombe, and the nature. She “captured some of [her] long-ago feelings–the excitement of discovering, of seeing things unknown to Western eyes, and the serenity that had come from living…as a part of the natural world” (Goodall 147).
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She felt the nature made “a most sacred place” to embrace her (Goodall 148).
These feelings could not be explained by the science. The word “sacred” shows she had looked into religion for the answer. It was the nature’s power, an unknown power that inspired her demand for some explanation to the world without science. From these experiences, Goodall totally understood and recollected the religion. Religion could not bring her husband back to life, but was able to cure her broken heart. In order to separate two conflicting ideas, the thorough understanding is essential. The tolerance and coexistence begins with comprehensive understanding.
Second step is admitting the coexistence of both of them instead of putting them in opposite poles. One idea may contain thoughts that directly oppose to the other one. In the essay, Goodall used to think science and religion are “mutually exclusive” which is identified by many people (148).
In Goodall’s period, the religion is greatly instituted by science. Most people regarded science as the only way to truth and despised religion. Fortunately, Goodall’s belief in religion was firm enough that was not influenced by the society. However, it’s not their fault to think that science is the truth. It is reasonable to think that because of the enormous accomplishments achieved by science but not by religion. People have no reasons to deny the science or to trust the religion because science is so powerful and omnipotent that it seems to be able to explain the whole universe. However, this popular belief got challenged after Goodall totally understood what the science and religion were. In the essay, Goodall raised the notion of “windows”. Goodall realized “there are many windows through which we humans, searching for meaning, can look out into the world around us” (148).
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Goodall admitted the power of science to explore the world. As a scientist, she was using the scientific “window” to research the chimpanzees. Most importantly, she recognized the power of the nature, of the religion:
Yet there are other windows through which we humans can look out into the world around us, windows through which the mystics and the holy men of the East, and the founders of the great world religions, have gazed as they searched for the meaning and purpose of our life on earth, not only in the wondrous beauty of the world, but also in its darkness and ugliness. (148)
As Goodall explains, the “windows” are not unique; there are many ways to explore the world besides science. We should respect all the religions because they are the wisdoms of ancient thinkers. Goodall described her feeling, “That afternoon it had been as though an unseen hand had drawn back a curtain and, for the briefest moment, I had seen through such a window” (148).
At that time, Goodall put the science and religion in a harmonic coexistence that do not conflict with each other. Goodall changed the dominated position of science in her mind into a parallel position with religion. Also Goodall rebutted the mutual exclusion between science and religion. Those people who did not accept the coexistence of science and religion were too reliable on the science and logic to think about something beyond the range of science. The power of nature, of religion cannot be ignored and viewing religion as a useless belief is a sad thing. She feels regretful for the people put science and religion on opposite directions. Also, in the life, there are many ways to reach the goal. Respecting every possible ways and having a try on each of them is much better than sticking to only one solution. Only on the basis of coexistence, further cooperation will be possible.
The last important step is to avoid the conflicting parts of two ideas and utilize their strengths. Two conflicting ideas often challenge one another. Science and religion often hold opposite opinions. The most important difference is the existence of God. Science suggests no God but religion always suggests the exisetence God. In this way, many advocates of science regard religion as a superstition. However, religion is not the same as superstition. The ancient founders of different religions are not simply cheating people, but using their own ways to explain the world, the nature, the universe. Although there are debates about the validity of the explanation given by religion, Goodall stand on both sides. She agrees with opinions in Darwinian Revolution and never denies the God. Goodall shows that there is a way to combine science and religion together. “I had always thought that the biblical description of God creating the world in seven days might well have been an attempt to explain evolution in a parable” (Goodall 150).
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She indicated that science and religion can enhance each other in the exploration of world. In this case, the religion works as a prophet because the Bible is finished long before the Darwinian evolution and the science works as an explorer who follows the direction of religion. Utilizing two beliefs together may bring more innovative ideas. Combining the science and religion, Goodall makes the hypothesis “each of the days would have several million years” (150).
Integrating the most advanced parts of two conflicting beliefs, probably people will find their superposition. Disputes on the belief differences can be ignored. Reserving the difference while learning from other’s advantage is the essential step to reconcile two disparate beliefs and make progress.
Overall, all these three steps form a general way to solve the conflicts. However, people holding different beliefs do not follow the steps to reconcile and continue disputing the former issues. What they want is not a peaceful coexistence but their own belief to be the only. Even someone may argue how these three steps could prove their effectiveness on solving the conflict with science and religion still remain contrary. “Were we going to go on destroying God’s creation, fighting each other, hurting the other creatures of His planet? Or were we going to find ways to live in greater harmony with each other and with the natural world?” Goodall raised this question (150).
During the lasting debates, people holding different beliefs have concentrated on the conflict itself, but lose their original purposes. No matter if the thorough understanding, the recognition to the multiple solution and the tolerance and integration are possible steps to solve the conflicts, the essential idea beyond these steps is that “it honestly didn’t matter how we humans got to be the way we are…What mattered and mattered desperately was our future development” (Goodall 150).
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When handling the conflicts, forget about the past or some complicated ideas. The obstinacy and narrow minds only block human’s progress. Instead, look into the future. The human destiny only lies in the future. Future is always the common goal of all human beings. Therefore, just use the understanding, multiple solutions and tolerance with integration to reconcile these conflicts into a greater future!
