Science in the Twenty-First Century

For a long time science was thought of as a major agent of demystification, dissolving illusions, making human beings abandon what they would like to believe in, disenchanting the world, ensuring the rule of reason. But in our own time we see it increasingly called upon to produce "magical" effects, to deliver that which will free us consumers from the principles of reason. Scientists no longer have the task of delivering, for better or worse, the truths of the world; they function instead as the stokers in the steamer, whose job is to watch over the workings and performance of the machines so that the passengers can entertain themselves without a care on the upper deck.