Rene Descartes was a pretty smart French dude. He made a lot of discoveries and inventions, including cartesian coordinates (named after him), and the famous proof of one's existence, "I think, therefore I am."
Descartes also invented a technique for separating truth from lies, which he called "reasoning". He called this "The Method" and wrote a short pamphlet about it called "Discourse on the Method." Here's his "Method" for finding truth:
1) Presume everything you think is true is actually complete bullshit.
2) To test if it is real, ask as many questions as possible, starting with the most simple questions. Then work up to the most complicated questions.
3) The answers to these questions will determine whether the subject is true or untrue.
In a raw, pre-societal state, humans would need to seek the truth in order to find food and survive. They would need to question things constantly.
But in today's society, this natural instinct of questioning for survival has been brainwashed out of us through public schools and college. We are taught to memorize what other people say. We are discouraged and ridiculed if we question norms and introduce contrarian observations. Most "educated" people have earned their degrees by memorizing and regurgitating hundreds of books written by others, without questioning or testing any of the lessons.
In conclusion, we instinctively seek the truth (science) for survival, but we have been conditioned to no longer think.
