Q&A: The Sages and Science
The Sages and Science
Question
When I see a statement of the Sages that contradicts what we know from science, what should I say—that the Sages were mistaken? Or perhaps science is mistaken (and its error will become clear over the years? Or maybe it will not become clear, but the mistake is on our side)?
Answer
I don’t know what you should say; I know what I think. If you also agree with what I say, then of course you can say it out loud.
What I think is that it is reasonable that the Sages were mistaken, since their scientific knowledge was the science of their time, and it was of course less up-to-date than ours. Of course, there is no certainty in science, and it may turn out that science was mistaken.
Discussion on Answer
The Chazon Ish claimed that everything the Sages said was through divine inspiration, including in the area of science and general knowledge.
Apparently the Chazon Ish’s words were not themselves said through divine inspiration.
Okay, it’s open for discussion. There is also another explanation from Rabbi Dessler, who writes: “Even if the words of the Sages seem to deal with the natural sciences, in truth they deal with the cause of causes; the explanations are not natural but supernatural. The Sages and science therefore do not deal on the same plane. If at times they gave explanations according to the scientific knowledge of their day, then it is our duty to seek other explanations by which the law will remain correct in accordance with the nature known in our day.”
For this explanation and others, see several articles/sections printed at the beginning of the first volume of Ein Yaakov: Ramchal, Maharatz Chajes, Rabbi Abraham son of Maimonides, and others.
As for whether it is our duty to search, I do not know where this obligation came from. In my opinion there is no obligation to study them at all, and certainly not to search for various excuses for them. That is usually a waste of time.
Why is it a waste of time? They were wise people, and if they wanted to convey an ethical message to us, then maybe it is worth understanding what they were trying to say?
In the Talmud itself it is brought that the sages concede to the sages of the nations of the world (science); see Pesachim 94:
"The sages of Israel say: by day the sun travels below the firmament, and by night above the firmament. And the sages of the nations of the world say: by day the sun travels below the firmament, and by night below the ground. Rabbi said: their view appears more correct than ours."