Scientific progress itself is a fairly objective thing.
If scientists come to know more things, that is progress. What is more debateable is
whether we should equate scientific progress with cultural advancement. In other words,
does science really make our cultures and our societies
better?
We clearly have experienced scientific progress.
That is not something that can be argued. We have, for example, ways to extend our
lives longer than ever before and we have ways to communicate that surpass anything that
could have been widely imagined even as recently as three or four decades ago. The
question is, have these things advanced our culture?
That
is a much more difficult question and one that should really be subject of discussion.
I would argue that the tangible benefits of scientific progress have advanced our
culture and our society. The fact that our lives have become easier (physically
speaking) and so many more diseases can be cured or managed outweighs things like the
greater amount of stress we experience through our hustle and bustle lifestyles or the
fact that our lives are sometimes prolonged even when we might be better off
dead.
However, this is something I would like to see moved
to discussion because there are many ways to argue this
question.
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