Doing Science for Its Own Sake

In the Jewish <a href="https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Sanhedrin" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Sanhedrin</a>, Rabbi Yehuda recognized that some believers perform their religious duties — <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/mitzvah-Judaism" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">mitzvahs</a>, and pursue scholarship of the <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Torah" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Torah</a>’s teaching as ways for gaining external benefits. And so, he noted: “through repeatedly doing something not for its own sake, one eventually does it for its sake.” In other words, the routine practice of the duties, irrespective of motivation, would eventually lead to a deeper understanding of the meaning behind them. The same rationale applies to the practice of science. Some practitioners pursue science as a tool for promoting their self-esteem and status, in the same way that athletes sprint the 100-meters dash in order to demonstrate that they are better than other athletes or to set the world record. Throughout the past forty years of my career as a practicing scientist, I met many practitioners, including some of the most prominent professionals in their field, who clearly pursue science for the benefit of honors, academic status or awards, that accompany scholarly excellence. <a href="https://avi-loeb.medium.com/doing-science-for-its-own-sake-a7c06f697a80">Learn More</a>