'The Paradigm Theory and Religion'

Although Thomas Kuhn stated that his theory of 'The Paragdim Shift' could only be used in a scientific form, if applied to our world it seems to pull the whole of society into question.

The Paragdim shift seems to both enhance science but also question it. For example people used to believe that the earth was flat. Then a Paradigm shift in understanding occurred and suddenly we understand the earth to be round. There is a clear shift in understanding.

However, if we once believed that the earth was flat, how do we know what we believe in now is correct?

Society is based around science, around fact. But what is fact? A Paragdim shift in our understanding of the universe could occur at any time and dissprove science completely. Back last year an atom was found to travel faster then the speed of light. This discovery brought both Galileo and Isaac Newton's fundamental laws of physics into question. Everything we know and feel could be false. Science isn't fact, it's not the truth, it's just what society believes at present. 

Whenever I think about the paradigm shift 'The Matrix' comes into my head. How do we know we're not controlled by a world outside our own?

Certain philosophers believe such things could be true. Scientists scoff at this absurdity  but who's to say science isn't just an absurd creation, forced to fit amongst society?
It seems to me that the only way out of this shift, the only way to remove yourself from the threat of what you believe in being disproved is to believe in something disprovable  See, the beauty of religion is that it doesn't matter whether it's a lie or not, because if you believe in a lie it removes you from the paradigm. See, nobody can ever disprove God. There will always be a 'what if' percentage. So it matters not if it's a lie or not, as it will never be proved or disproved, unlike science. Science could crumble and fall at any moment. 

There also seems to be a slight irony contained in the fact that if we are in fact controlled by something outside of our control it will in fact be religion that was closer to the truth then science.

'Addiction Never Ends Well'

It's shocking how many kinds of addiction exist. It would be too easy if it was just drugs and booze and cigarettes. The hardest part of kicking a habit is wanting to kick it. I mean, we get addicted for a reason right? Often, too often, things that start out as just a normal part of your life at some point cross the line to obsessive, compulsive, out of control. It's the high we're chasing, the high that makes everything else fade away.

The thing about addiction is, it never ends well. Because eventually, whatever it is that was getting us high, stops feeling good, and starts to hurt. Still, they say you don't kick the habit until you hit rock bottom. But how do you know when you are there? Because no matter how badly a thing is hurting us, sometimes letting it go hurts even worse.

N.B.

This is not actually cocaine and I am not a drug user, it is just a representation of addiction.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41142547@N00/6198360230/in/photostream

'The Chemical Life'

It seems bizarre to me to think about W. H. Auden's benzedrine addiction, and how he called his life, 'The chemical life'. I mean to call it such a thing suggests that his life was not real, and not how life should be. But what is real? Chemicals may impair us, and differ our views on the world, but to say this is incorrect seems to almost suggest that the life we see is not real; at least not true anyway. Our brain runs on chemicals, so changing its balance doesn't seem incorrect to me, it simply means we interpret everything differently.

They say no two people can see the exact same colour. So if everyones view of the world is different then who is right? Does anyone see it for its true form?
Sometimes I feel like i'm watching telly. The edges of my vision become clearer like the edges of a screen. I'd love to get out of my body, and see the world for what it truly is. The world outside our own.

Auden frowned upon hallucinogens, which I always find slightly comical. Strictly speaking hallucinogens do not create hallucinations, but mere modification of regular perception. (Hallucinations are perceptions that have no basis on reality.) So if a simple chemical can alter your perception of reality surely it is impossible to truly believe that what we see is the real world.