Various - Science in the Changing World bound with Science at Your Service

ROUTLEDGE LIBRARY EDITIONS:
20TH CENTURY SCIENCE

Volume 1

SCIENCE IN THE CHANGING WORLD
BOUND WITH
SCIENCE AT YOUR SERVICE

SCIENCE IN THE CHANGING WORLD

THOMAS HOLLAND, H. LEVY, JULIAN HUXLEY, JOHN R. BAKER, BERTRAND RUSSELL, ALDOUS HUXLEY, HUGH IA. FAUSSET, HILAIRE BELLOC, J. B. S. HALDANE AND OLIVER LODGE.

Edited by
MARY ADAMS

BOUND WITH
SCIENCE AT YOUR SERVICE

JULIAN S. HUXLEY, EDWARD APPLETON, GEORGE BURT, LAWRENCE BRAGG, J.B. SPEAKMAN, JOHN READ, A. O. RANKINE, NELSON JOHNSON, MICHAEL GRAHAM, ALBERT PARKER, J. L. KENT, G. L. GROVES AND E. C. BULLARD

With a Preface by
E. C. BULLARD

Science in the Changing World first published in 1933
Science at Your Service first published in 1945

This edition first published in 2014
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN

and by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017

1933 Mary Adams, selection and editorial matter

1945 George Allen & Unwin Ltd

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN: 978-0-415-73519-3 (Set)
eISBN: 978-1-315-77941-6 (Set)
ISBN: 978-1-138-01330-8 (Volume 1)
eISBN: 978-1-315-77939-3 (Volume 1)

Publishers Note
The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of this book but points out that some imperfections from the original may be apparent.

Disclaimer
The publisher has made every effort to trace copyright holders and would welcome correspondence from those they have been unable to trace.

SCIENCE
IN
THE CHANGING WORLD

THOMAS HOLLAND
H. LEVY
JULIAN HUXLEY
JOHN R. BAKER
BERTRAND RUSSELL
ALDOUS HUXLEY
HUGH IA. FAUSSET
HILAIRE BELLOC
J. B. S. HALDANE
OLIVER LODGE

MARY ADAMS

LONDON
GEORGE ALLEN & UNWIN LTD
MUSEUM STREET

FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1933

PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN BY
UNWIN BROTHERS LTD., WOKING

THIS book is based on a series of broadcast talks on science, which formed part of a comprehensive symposium on The Changing World. In that symposium an attempt was made to reflect the crisis through which the world is passing and to make an analysis of those forces of transformation in science, art, economics, and social life which have been in operation since the beginning of the century. All the speakers were preoccupied with the same general theme and, within each particular field of inquiry, set themselves to answer the same questions, thus achieving for the first time in the history of broadcasting a unity of theme and a continuity of treatment over a considerable period of time.

The dominance of science over the day-to-day lives of our contemporaries gives a special interest and significance to the analysis of the changes which have been brought about by progress in scientific thought. The practical applications of science order our civilization. Science generally enters the lives of ordinary individuals as a mechanical device or a social conveniencea motor-car, a wireless set, or a telephone. The impression is widespread that science is the history of sudden and startling inventions rather than a method of pursuing truth. It is the aim of Professor Levys contribution in to disclose the fundamental nature of science : that it is a process of systematic trial and error, of frustration and discovery, a laborious construction of instruments, theories, and methods of investigation. Professor Levy defines the scope of scientific inquiry, and stresses the importance of the scientific outlook for the investigation of the motives of human behaviour.

Mans investigation of himself is a significant development of twentieth-century science, and the biologist has a definite contribution to make to any discussion of human nature. Researches into our ancestry, our growth, and our conduct have practical applications to everyday affairs, casting light on urgent social problems, compelling tolerance, and occasionally indicating profitable adjustments. The science of human heredity is beginning to affect the social conscience and to provoke speculations about the biological future of the race. Some of the facts necessary for an appreciation of biological questions are provided in by Dr. John Baker, while Professor Julian Huxley discusses their meaning in relation to the environment in which man exists.

Finally, in , the civilization which constitutes our environment comes under scrutiny. Men with views as widely divergent as those of Mr. Hilaire Belloc and Professor J. B. S. Haldane examine critically the philosophical, aesthetic, and social implications of scientific progress. It cannot be denied that science has brought material freedom, wealth, and leisure, and liberation from famine and disease. But has science produced these things at the cost of spiritual atrophy and personal servility? Does a machine-made civilization stifle artistic expression, or does it merely transfer its sphere of activity? Under the machine, are all the elements of mans personality able to find harmonious expression? Is it possible to view the ever-moving frontiers of science with equanimity? Is the advance of science inevitable, or does scientific progress contain within itself the seeds of decay? There is a widespread sense of disharmony between the old and the new from which spring endless perplexities and conflicts. Will the fabric of society stand the strain of such swift change? Mans weaknesses have been exposed, and doubts are freely expressed about his inherent capacity to control scientific progress.

Man is out of place in nature, and some of those who are contributing to the symposium feel that unless some kind of re-orientation occurs he cannot survive. On the other hand, other contributors believe that the remedy for our sickness is not less science but more, that a more scientific understanding of human nature will restore coherency to life, and that the ancient forces of religion, aesthetics, and humanism, will find their place in the modern age. But in that event we must accept the inevitability of science and apply ourselves to the task of understanding the civilization in which it works: there is hope for the future only if we strive to condition it by philosophic forethought and scientific planning.

Many listeners said they wished to have the talks in book form, and their publication may be welcomed by those who took part in wireless listening groups, reminding them of the companionship and discussion which the talks themselves occasioned.

It has been thought desirable to preserve the simplicity of style and the atmosphere of informality which characterize broadcasting, so some of the talks are published without modification. Alterations in others have become necessary, and the editor is responsible for certain rearrangements in their presentation.