One answers this by stating, first of all, that while science (which is a branch or extension of rationality) exists for its own goodness and also that it might be of use to us, the prizing of it in modernity, and the championing of it that can be, at moments, almost mean-spirited in its response to those who, at least in America, are often characterized as ‘backward’ or anti-intellectual, is a continuation of that which, during the Enlightenment, centuries ago, was a reaction to the modes of knowing and valuation that had been foregrounded in the Middle Ages, which had preceded that time. In other words, it is not new, though of course it is manifesting in different ways, and in different moods, and perhaps even to a different degree. So that if one is to understand the role of science, and appreciate its function (rather than merely mention it or refer to it as necessity demands, as if it were some all-encompassing solution to every dilemma) one must recognize its context. Which is large enough to include it not as the sole epistemology, but as one among others. Always to be turned to in certain situations, and applied as far as it will go, but not necessarily without pause, or cessation.