How Can Science Teach Humility?

Eliahu asks: "Hello. Does studying science make people more arrogant? In other words, does understanding the science of the world lead to pride? And if so, how is it possible that knowledge of divine creation leads to pride?"

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Hello Eliahu, and thank you for your question.

We should say the opposite; the more people today delve into the study of science, the more humility they should feel in front of the immense divine wisdom revealed in every detail of creation: "He does great things beyond understanding, wonders beyond number" (Job 5:9). Pride has become childish in our time precisely because of the revelation of such great wisdom in creation, which the scientist's tools cannot fully grasp. However, there are people whose bad traits lead them to boastfulness instead of humility, boasting of the slight knowledge they have acquired about creation. Yet, objectively, science leads every honest person to great humility and even to awe, as Maimonides wrote:

"And how does one love and fear Him? When one contemplates His wondrous and great works and creations and sees therein His wisdom which is endless and boundless, immediately he loves, praises, glorifies, and longs with a great longing to know the great name, as David said: 'My soul thirsts for God, for the living God' (Psalms 42:3). And when he considers these matters, immediately he is startled, realizing that he is a small, humble, and obscure creature, standing with a deficient, tiny understanding before the One who is perfect in knowledge, as David said: 'When I consider Your heavens... what is humanity, that You are mindful of them'" (Mishneh Torah, Foundations of the Torah 2).

In the 16th century, an educated person could achieve all the scientific and philosophical knowledge available at that time, as the sciences lacked in fields like medicine, cosmology, and chemistry. But today, scientific study and research have proliferated in every possible area to such an extent that no person of flesh and blood can encompass all the scientific knowledge that the Creator has placed in the world. It is impossible for anyone today to be both a physicist and a chemist, a biologist, a brain surgeon, a cosmologist, a psychologist, a sociologist, a software programmer, a hardware creator, a robotics engineer, a car mechanic, an airplane mechanic, an engineer, an architect, a graphic designer, a director, a photographer, a paleontologist, a geologist, a historian, an archaeologist, a linguist, a veterinarian, and a successful dentist...

Nowadays, even in a single field of science, the expert discovers they cannot follow all the branching and renewing knowledge within their area. Someone who studies animals cannot also be a biologist, zoologist, ornithologist, and marine biologist at once, as every field splits into countless additional and different expertise in creation, which a specialist in one field cannot match in another.

It can be said that science today forces people towards humility against their will because they acknowledge the fact that they cannot achieve comprehensive or even basic knowledge in all available fields. A distinguished scientist in one area may be completely ignorant in another, and even in their area of expertise, scientists must admit that many mysteries and unresolved puzzles lie beneath all the knowledge they have acquired. Who knows if scientists of future generations will not revoke the current accepted knowledge. The limitations of the wise are more evident today than at any other time in history, teaching humanity an important lesson in humility.

Only a wise person in ancient Greece or the Middle Ages might have believed that they had reached all possible knowledge about reality, learned all the world's wisdoms, knew everything that can be known and what cannot be, and were complete in the level of wisdom. However, with the development of science, Hashem revealed to all humans that wisdom cannot be attained by one individual. For example, one person alone could not invent and construct a modern computer. A computer is built with parts assembled together by many sages (and it has been discovered that the human brain is a million times more complex than a computer, containing more neurons than stars in the galaxy, even the smallest cell is more complex than the entire city of New York). An individual cannot encompass all this, and hence science progresses only through joint research, trying to discover small parts of the wonders of divine creation, which knows no limits or boundaries.

The truth must be said, that the reason no wise person in the world is capable of achieving all types of wisdom and scientific achievements existing there, is because Hashem is infinite, so His ways of achievement extend beyond and above human comprehension, even of millions of sages.

From here, we can conclude a conclusion about closeness to the Almighty. Just as in science there are limitless amounts of knowledge and achievements every person can specialize in - so in spiritual achievements, there is no boundary to the depth of Torah study and number of commandments and character traits the children of Israel can excel in endlessly with the power of the holy Torah, about which the sages said: "Longer than the earth, and broader than the sea" (Tanchuma, Nasso 8:3). Since the Torah is a divine creation, it has no boundary and measure; it spreads across all times and countless possible states where Hashem's will is revealed by investigating His commandments. Regarding the observable universe, merely an outward shell and a means for us, it was said: "He does great things beyond understanding, wonders beyond number" (Job 5:9), how much more so with the holy Torah, which embodies the divine will in its fullest, it is greater and broader until no number compared to this world, limitless in its depth, teachings, and secrets. Science serves as a metaphor and can teach us a lesson in humility.

And just as every scientist connects with the science that interests them, so too the Jew strolls in the orchard (-Peshat, Remez, Derash, Sod) until he connects with a specific part of the wisdom of the Torah uniquely tied to the root of his soul, through which he connects to Hashem in love. King Solomon repaired in the world what King David was not meant to correct, and King David repaired what Joshua bin Nun was not meant to correct. Similarly, Aaron the priest corrected the world in ways Moses our teacher was not meant to, and Moses our teacher corrected the world in ways Abraham our patriarch was not meant to. There was a great need for each of them, as each righteous person achieved his distinction uniquely connected to his soul's root. Hence, each of the righteous excels in a different spiritual level from his fellow. In collaboration spanning thousands of years, sages have revealed the greatest creation of all, as each uncovered a unique layer of Hashem's Torah and attributes, thereby reaching his distinction in a way unique to his soul's root.

When we learn about the greats of the Tanakh, we find the revelation and divine attribute in which each excelled. About Aaron it was said: "Lover of peace, pursuer of peace. Lover of creatures and draws them close to the Torah" (Avot 1:12). Aaron's special quality was in spreading peace and brotherhood in Israel, and he was chosen to be the high priest and to serve in the priesthood. Moses was the humblest of all and was chosen to deliver the Torah. Abraham endured trials and had extraordinary trust in Hashem, and became the head of the nation. King David accepted suffering with love and composed holy songs to Hashem. King Solomon was the wisest of all and attained perfection in understanding the Torah. In each of the sages, there is a quality unique to him, a correction intended for him in the world and in Torah study, through which he connected to Hashem and gained His endless closeness. Go forth and learn that just as there is not merely one external wisdom in the world, but countless wisdoms, so too the attainment of closeness to Hashem is achieved through innumerable deep and diverse teachings in His holy Torah. For every sage - the Torah holds a special revelation, hidden since the days of yore: "All that an accomplished student is destined to innovate was already said to Moses at Sinai" (Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus 22).