It is undeniable that science is going to play a crucial role in the continued development and progress of society in the years to come. This is because of the reality that scientific discoveries will continue to have a major impact to humanity in one way or another. This explains why the scientists deserve to be respected and admired for their relentless dedication and passion for discovering something new. However, the goal of scientific endeavors should be to eliminate suffering and increase the quality of life because when the people are living comfortable and satisfactory lives, there is a better chance that they are going to be productive and helpful in making society better overall.
When People Are Suffering and Are in A Miserable Situation
There is no doubt that when people are suffering and are in a miserable situation, it becomes impossible for them to be productive in doing their roles and responsibilities. The best example of this is what is happening right now all over the world where everybody is being hurt by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nobody could have ever predicted that year 2020 would be this tough. However, the problem is already here, and science is at the forefront because it is going to produce the vaccine which will help to make people all over the world immune to the virus as their protection. Thus, it is obvious in this example as to why the goal of scientific endeavors should be to eliminate suffering and increase the quality of life because unless the vaccine for the virus is created and released, the people will find it difficult to be productive and go back to their normal routines. Everybody is forced to make the necessary adjustments while the vaccine is still unavailable because this virus has proven that it can be deadly. People do not want to catch this virus and add more to the problems being experienced by the hospitals which have become so overwhelmed already. In this case, science is the solution that will bring salvation to people and bring them out of their misery caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hunger is another reason why millions of people all over the world are suffering. This is particularly true in Africa where people starve to death simply because there is nothing that they can eat to enable themselves to survive (von Grebmer, Bernstein, and Nabarro 4). While the people in the highly developed countries are just throwing away the food that they do not like to eat because they have so much money to buy any food that they want, the people in Africa are dealing with starvation. This is unfair to them because they did not ask to be in this kind of miserable situation, but it is the reality that they must face every day which is just unacceptable. Hunger is a curse that Africans have yet to figure out how to stop.
Global Hunger
If global hunger is going to be addressed, the solution will come from science which explains why its goal should be to eliminate suffering and increase the quality of life. If the scientific endeavors will focus on finding ways to help the Africans to have the seeds so they can plant the crops that they are going to need for survival, this can help to address the hunger problem. If the scientific endeavors are going to focus on genetically modifying the crops so that they will be able to withstand the harsh conditions in Africa, this will be a great help for the people in this continent (Colson 5). If they will have crops that they can plant and harvest all throughout the year, this means that they will not be hungry anymore. The bottom line here is that once the Africans are not hungry anymore, this is going to lead to significant improvements in the quality of their life which is what they deserve. This means that they are going to be more productive because they are not thinking about their hungry stomachs anymore or where they are going to get their food next time. It is evident that when the scientific endeavors are focused on eliminating suffering and increasing the quality of life of people all over the world, great things eventually happen, and society becomes so much better significantly. There is no problem, big or small, that science cannot solve.
There should be more priority to scientific research being planned with an end use in mind. This is because of the reality that this is the best way to make sure that all the hard work of the scientists will be focused on achieving one goal which is to eliminate suffering and increase the quality of life of people all over the world. While it is understandable that scientific research should also be driven by curiosity, the problem here is that it is just so easy for the scientists to lose focus especially since they do not have an important goal to achieve other than satisfying their curiosity. However, when there is a concrete goal that is being aspired to be achieved by scientific research, this only means that the scientists will do everything they can to make sure that the goal will be achieved since they will not allow those people who are counting on them to be disappointed. Thus, when it comes to scientific research, the priority should be on what needs to be done for the greater good of the people instead of just satisfying the curiosity and finding out something new.
Science Will Continue to Play a Huge Role in Improving Society
The bottom line here is that science will continue to play a huge role in improving society over the long-term. However, for this to happen, the goal of scientific endeavors should be to eliminate suffering and increase the quality of life because when the people are living comfortable and satisfactory lives, there is a better chance that they are going to be productive and helpful in making society better overall. The people all over the world should benefit from the gifts of science by having comfortable lives and being productive. When the people are happy and satisfied, it becomes easier for them to do what they want and make a difference in society. Thus, the scientific endeavors should focus on finding solutions to the existing problems being faced by mankind nowadays because once these problems are solved, there is no doubt that the quality of life of the people will significantly improve. At the end of the day, this is all that matters and nothing else.
Works Cited
Colson, Mary. The Race to Feed the Hungry. New York: Rosen Publishing, 2014.
Von Grebmer, Klaus, Jill Bernstein, and David Nabarro. 2016 Global Hunger Index: Africa edition. Washington: International Food Policy Research Institute, 2017.
