“Man of Science Man of Faith”

      Yes it’s the first sci-fi geek edition of this blog it had to happen sooner rather then later.  I was thinking about the “Man of Science Man of Faith” theme in Lost and how it applies to other shows and mediums.  The concept was originally used to describe the differences between the motivations of Jack Shephard the doctor and “Man of Science” and John Locke the “Man of Faith” who believes in the mysticism of The Island.  Both characters have reason for the sides they take on this issue and their actions based on these beliefs drive a lot of the progression of events on the show.   

    I first realized the concept could be applied to other characters on different shows when I saw a live journal icon proclaiming Spock and Dr. McCoy from the original Star Trek to be “Team Science”.  This got me thinking that despite their differences those two characters would both fit in the “Man of Science” category leaving the role of the “Man of Faith” to Captain Kirk.  This brought me to the conclusion that Kirk is so much a “Man of Faith” he needs two “Men of Science” to counter balance it.  In some sense Kirk is the ultimate “Man of Faith” he breaks the rules cheats his way out of “No Win Scenarios” and does not worry about the consequences.  This leaves Spock to argue that something is “not logical” and McCoy to complain about the health risks that heroic acts can lead to.  It could also be argued that he needs a third “Man of Science” in Scotty to put the ship back together again after everything goes down.

     Then I came up with the opposite theory for Stargate Atlantis where Rodney McKay needs three faiths for his one science.  His “Gate Team” has John Sheppard whose military background makes him the stereotypical hero that charges in to situations without knowing what everything means and trusts that Rodney’s science will save them in the end even if he does not subscribe to it himself.  The other members of the team take faith more literally Teyla especially believes in the ancestors that built the Stargates and treats them as divine entities instead of aliens with advance technology that the “Men of Science” explain them as.  Ronon follows the “Man of Faith” in a way that combines the other two sometimes with military heroism and sometimes with religious connotations.  Rodney does not seem to notice that he is out numbered in the science category, although in some episodes Zelenka backs him up as a second “Man of Science”.  Despite the larger portion of the characters believing in the faith side the show itself tries to make science the final solution and uses it to explain what could otherwise be mystical occurrences. This is different from the ideals shown on Lost where despite not many character having faith in the mystical properties of The Island it turns out to be true and the cause of almost everything that happens to them over the course of the show.  

      In most instances there is only one of each and I think the most classic of these is Batman and Superman.  Sure they are comic book characters but the Justice League cartoon show qualifies it for my reruns. But they show the concept at its most basic Batman is the “Man of Science” and uses that science to fight crime and protect the city and relies on his intelligence instead of a super power.  Superman is the “Man of Faith” because in being not of this world and having powers he becomes something of an object of faith himself. He also believes the best of people and that he can genuinely make a difference and save the world despite how naive this viewpoint seems in comparison to the darker views in Batman’s world.  When these characters are compared to Jack and Locke the metaphor does not seem to fit because on the surface Jack Shephard seems to have more in common with Superman or more specifically Clark Kent.  This is because Jack and Locke are the exceptions to their own archetype.  Even though the concept of “Man of Science Man of Faith” is defined by them Jacks character type is the hero who in most instances would be the one to follow faith not science.  He is not as impulsive as other heroic “Men of Faith” like Kirk or the ironically named in this example John Sheppard of Atlantis, but he is the one that others look to as the leader and hope he can get them out of whatever situation The Island has presented them with.  Meanwhile Locke accepts the situations of The Island as what should happen and does not think a “Man of Science” should interfere.          

      These are just a few examples of how the “Man of Science Man of Faith” idea applies to sci-fi characters and how they interact with each other and their environments so I might expand on this topic again later if I think of more that I want to talk about.