Yuval Noah Harari on Science and Truth

Harari in his own words:

Truth was never the highest priority of human society. It was the highest priority of some individuals, but never of society as a whole because society as a whole does not function on the basis of truth. And if you take two of the most powerful institutions of humankind, let's think about science and the scientific community, and let's think about religion and churches and so forth. I think none of them has truth as their chief value. As individuals yes, but as institutions know, I think the chief value of science is power and the chief value of religion is order, is organization. Religion is all about having order in society and science is mainly about gaining power. Gaining power over the world. They use truth to some extent on the way to achieving power or to achieving order, but this is not their highest moral.

After being asked to elaborate, he continues:

I think science as an institution is interested in gaining power, to gain control over the world. [...] It all comes down to money in many cases. [...] as an institution, at the university, you need money to finance so you submit a research grant and you have to convince the authority not of the truth, you have to convince the authorities that what you want to do will somehow make us more powerful. Will somehow enable us to produce a new weapon. Will somehow enable us to produce more food. Will somehow enable us to gain control over previously uncontrollable epidemics, of disease. And this is really what gets the money. Of course it needs to also to be true to some extent. If it doesn't work, then who wants it? [...]