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BERTRAND RUSSELL
THE SCIENTIFIC
OUTLOOK
LONDON
(JKC)R(iK AT,!. EN
Rl'SKIN
HOUSE
& U \\VIX
MUSKl'M
I/I'D
Sl'RI.l r
FBLISHED IN
This book
is
my
criticism or review,
as per-
1911, no portion
reproduced by any process without written
Enquiry should be made to the publisher.
mitted under
be
research,
the
Copyright
Act
GREAT BRITAIN BY
UNWIN BROTHERS LTD., WOKINO AND LONDON
PRINTED
IN
this edition I
date.
time of the
first
edition, since
it
my
fears are
more
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
page
PART
I
-f
I.
Scientific
Knowledge
Method
Method
JU-""Criaracteristics of Scientific
JJJ
i3
Limitations of Scientific
Scientific
.1
PART
VI
VII
III
IX
X
XI
Technique in
Technique in
Technique in
Technique in
Technique in
III.
Artificially
XIJI
The
XIV
Scientific
XV
XVI
2CVII
INDEX
II.
58
73
,105
Scientific
Technique
j^j
Inanimate Nature
150
Biology
158
Physiology
170
Psychology
178
Society
191
The
Scientific Society
Created Societies
Government
Education
PART
XII
'"$8
Metaphysics
in a Scientific Society
209
223
235
251
Scientific
259
-^firnrr
269
Reproduction
and Vahws
281
INTRODUCTION
To say that we live in an
age of science
is
a common-
it
power of science
its
maximum.
is
exhausted, or
It is far
more likely
to come to
is
former labours,
as
prove that no
the late
capable of
stability and that a reversion to barbarism is a
necessary condition of the continuance of human life.
may
scientific society is
increasing
and
at least.
Science, as
ledge
its
name
by convention
implies,
it is
is
INTRODUCTION
power of manipulating nature. It is oecause
science gives us the power of manipulating nature
that it has more social importance than art. Science
as the
as the pursuit
of truth
is
may have
little
intrinsic
value,
has
it
a practical
The
matters to examine.
first is
life
mould
his physical
In so far as he
cent ; in so far as he
is
wise this
new power
is
benefi-
foolish
should be accompanied
it is
by increase
in wisdom. I
mean by wisdom a
life.
This
is
enough
it
itself,
therefore,
is
not
to guarantee
requires.
remember, however, that this preoccupation is onesided and needs to be corrected if a balanced view
of human life is to be achieved.
PART
SCIENTIFIC
KNOWLEDGE
CHAPTER
GALILEO
more
refined
in essence
remark-
forms
it
is
its
man who
and
generalization.
"fire
He had
however, what
a careful choice of
not,
technique demands
significant facts on the one hand, and, on the other
hand, various means of arriving at laws otherwise
scientific
man who
says
"unsupported bodies in air fall" has merely generalized, and is liable to be refuted by balloons, butterflies, and aeroplanes; whereas the man who understands the theory of falling bodies knows also why
certain exceptional bodies
Scientific
do not
method, simple
as
fall.
it is
in essence, has
'5
difficulty,
and
is still
employed only by a minority, who themselves confine its employment to a minority of the questions
upon which they have opinions. If you number
among your acquaintances some eminent man of
science, accustomed to the minutest quantitative
precision in his experiments and the most abstruse
skill in his inference from them, you will be able to
make him the subject of a little experiment which is
likely to be by no means unilluminating. If you
tackle him on party politics, theology, income tax,
house-agents, the bumptiousness of the workingclasses and other topics of a like nature, you are
pretty sure, before long, to provoke an explosion,
and
to hear
him
which
convictions
based
upon
desire,
float perilously
cargo of scientifically
our conduct
some
16
upon
and there
by which
science
is
one in
it
to persuade
desires an hour's
tergi-
See Havelock
Ellis,
Man
ff.
17
men
that
some reason
is
one which
an unscientific opinion
held for some reason other than its
Our age is distinguished from all
to believe true
is
probable truth.
of
The
great intellectual
and
flourished,
men
of science, partly,
manual
that any study which
I think,
because
all
was ungentlemanly, so
required experiment seemed a little vulgar. Perhaps
it would be fanciful to connect with this
prejudice
activity
18
and
of classical learning.
19
Greeks
also
discovered
perfectly
valid
contrivances
Roman
for
soldier
when
He
is
peril.
His work on
is
though
pure
on
this
it
first
began
systems.
Montaigne
illustrates
this
tendency.
He
queer facts, particularly if they disprove something. He has no desire to make his opinions systematic and coherent. Rabelais also, with his motto:
likes
fascinating
scientific successors.
as
we understand
with Galileo
Scientific
method,
it,
comes into
(1564-1642),
is
known
to
move
in
its
completeness. While
much more
is
beliefs
gamin.
it
When
know what
it is like.
He began by
of cap and
perhaps have been popular with undergraduates,
but was viewed with grave disfavour by his fellowprofessors.
He would amuse
They
make
totle's
Physics, that a
would
fall
himself by arranging
his colleagues look silly.
on the
basis of Aris-
shot,
and
The
was impossible
it
On
else it
ardent Aristotelian.
Galileo
his
lectures
Berlin.
the
hissed
at
Then he made a
professors
to
look
telescope
through
it
and invited
at
Jupiter's
that Aristotle
the Leaning
Tower of
Pisa
25
falling,
men
to
whom
bitterly
and
own with
The
document
.
an interesting
Whereas you,
Florence, aged 70
.
is
fessedly written
by you
to a person formerly
your pupil, in
Qualifiers as follows
The
Holy
2.
Scriptures.
The
is
might be altogether rooted out, not insinuate itself further to the heavy
detriment of the Catholic truth, a decree emanated from the
Holy Congregation of the Index prohibiting the books which
And,
And
many
28
it
is left
un-
it,
by
yourself, that
But
this
good Catholic.
Therefore, having seen and maturely considered the merits
We
30
now shown
in the
form
to you.
and
Office for
was
I,
as a
consequence
as follows
3'
which
Holy
I treat
vehement suspicion
me,
Church and
;
swear that
I will
I>
1
is
said this
1
From
32
not Galileo.
Galileo,
ff.
1903.
cies
far,
last
and Boston,
it still
new ideas.
The conflict between
method of
is
the
method
jurists, Christians,
Since deduction
who
followers of Galileo?
scintillating
firmament of
mediaeval certainties.
Socrates
had
said
Knowledge,
as
opposed
come
to fantasies of wish-fulfilment,
difficult to
may
live,
like
its
or dislike
increase of
34
its
It is
gists
Galileo
is
the chief.
II.
NEWTON
Sir Isaac
and condemnation
of his work. Newton, on the other hand, from the
moment when, at the age of eighteen, he became an
undergraduate at Trinity College, Cambridge,
received universal applause. Less than two years
after he had taken his M. A. degree the Master of his
College was describing him as a man of incredible
genius. He was acclaimed by the whole learned
last years
had
to suffer persecution
35
Government post
So important was
in
which
he, that
it
when George
ascended
left
behind
in
line.
EXAMPLES
'OF
SCIENTIFIC METHOD
of that epic
unityjthat the heavens possessed in the Ptolemaic
system. Newton, at one stroke, by his law of gravitation brought order and unity into this confusion.
known even
the comets,
"blazed forth the death
;
Newton's
manner
among moderns
the theory of
relativity, but even that does not aim at the same
finality, since the rate of progress nowadays is too
is
1665 tnat
Newton
thought of the law of gravitation, and in that year, on account of the Great
Plague, he spent his time in the country, possibly
in
first
37
twenty-one years
the scientific
it
at every
in part to Galileo's
years, but
it
was due
science, partly,
made
it
set
out on his travels again. The period from his accession to the death of Queen Anne, was the most
brilliant, intellectually, in English history.
down to the
French who
of Napoleon,
it
was
chiefly the
hundred
years.
The harm
that in
39
which
method
in the
form
From
observation of particular
facts, it arrives by induction at a general law, and
by deduction from the general law other particular
is
its
ideal.
which
is
This
is still
remained
itself
natural laws.
proportions
isolated
and
mysterious
among
New
From a
Newtonian
so far as
40
results.
tionized.
The work of
Einstein
has emphasized
and explained
credible that
Nevertheless,
seemed scarcely
should stand in need of correction.
so
it
much, that
it
last
proved
III.
The
DARWIN
meantime
is
scarcely
We may
take Darwin's
work
as illustrative
of the
with
theology,
though with
results
less
41
He
to appraise.
evolution,
difficult
He
of his evidence remains valid, but "natural selection" is less in favour amongst biologists than it
used to be.
He was
intelligently,
man who
and
able, at that
time, to study biology in the University, he preferred to spend his time walking round the country
collecting beetles, which was officially a form of
idleness. His real education he owed to the voyage
is
now
called ecology,
i.e.
the
1
geographical distribution of species and genera.
He observed, for example, that the vegetation of
the
42
Cf.
p. 143.
common
ancestry at the
Apart from
scientific details,
Darwin's importance
common
misfortunes of the
human
To
race.
this
The theory of
there
is
laid
is
day the
of
full
dog, and so
more or less imperfect copies
of these
celestial
no
The
present day.
particular
mechanism of "natural
selection"
is
no
43
longer
is
human
if
it
none. If
at
problem
is
44
if
it
fairy-tales
Human
embodying a fantasy of
base
their
it
When
hopes.
from
beings find
their opinions
wish-fulfilment.
money on
a horse, he
win.
When
make
its
The bookmaker
way
is
scientific
is
And
43
human
beings.
IV. PAVLOV
Each
fresh
scientific
46
broad
directed by a forward-looking purpose. The tapeworm, we are to suppose, has become what it is, not
because
it
human intestines,
an idea laid
part of the Divine Mind. As
but because
up in Heaven, which is
the Bishop of Birmingham
it
realizes
says:
"The loathsome
parasite
is
compel men
to
Physiology
has
been
the
battleground
among
vital
Nature,
November
at least,
29, 1930.
47
understood,
found to be
so,
still
processes
become the
feel,
know
we should
stand
it.
too
much about
discover to
the
this
view
less
of the
body
scientist,
The soul, we
belongs to the
It reaches out after
if it
is
becoming
scientific
wide a statement
method,
as
opposed
and
theologians.
facts that are
ind
such
facts
intrinsic interest.
jcientific
person,
are
likewise.
The procedure
is
as follows.
there
that
is
is
specific,
in
and
bright light,
movements
The
sucks,
infant sneezes,
and turns
and performs
eyes towards a
various other bodily
its
tioned reflex.
The
flow of saliva
is
originally called
50
due
to experience.
the basis of the
On
and bromide. He
be studied by all
whom he always showed a circular patch of bright
light before giving him food, and an elliptical patch
before giving
him an
electric shock.
dismay.
Pavlov
then
diminished
gradually
making
it
the
the loss of
was brought
closer
delicate ones.
bench,
ellipse
The
now was
necessary to elaborate
On
first.
am
afraid
Pavlov
is
same thing
is
essentially the
melancholic, sanguine, and phlegmatic. The phlegmatic and sanguine he regards as the saner types,
5*
He
and
human beings.
The organ through which
is
of opinion
it
is
and
is
is
entirely mechanistic.
One can
Op.
cit.,
p. 329.
53
The
is
following quotation
on
At the beginning of our work and for a long time afterwards we felt the compulsion of habit in explaining our subject
by psychological interpretations. Every time the objective
investigation met an obstacle, or when it was halted by the
.
complexity of the problem, there arose quite naturally misgivings as to the correctness of our new method. Gradually
with the progress of our research these doubts appeared more
rarely, and now I am deeply and irrevocably convinced that
along this path will be found the final triumph of the human
mind over its uttermost and supreme problem the knowledge
of the mechanism and laws of human nature. Only thus may
come a full, true and permanent happiness. Let the mind rise
from victory to victory over surrounding nature, let it conquer
for human life and activity not only the surface of the earth,
but all that lies between the depth of the seas and the outer
limits of the atmosphere, let
digious energy to flow from
it
command
other, let it
and
Op.
54
cit., p.
349.
Op.
cit., p.
41.
may
"What
difference does
ill
Government treated him with every consideration, and supplied his laboratory generously
this,
the
constantly advanced.
How
could
halt for
any
or Darwin's Origin of
Before such a book could be completed, it
works as Newton's
Species.
Principia,
this
is
regrettable,
for the great books of the past possessed a certain
is
an inevitable
consequence of the rapid increase of knowledge, and
must therefore be accepted philosophically.
Whether Pavlov's methods can be made to cover
the whole of human behaviour is open to question,
but at any rate they cover a very large field, and
within this field they have shown how to apply
scientific methods with quantitative exactitude. He
has conquered a
new sphere
it is
and
56
Op.
cit.,
p. 42.
may
same
is
respond to situations capriciously and without scientific regularity. Pavlov's study of the conditioned
reflex has
may
nevertheless have
capable of
scientific
says
not deter-
constitution of an animal
its
own
rules,
treatment as
governed by unconditioned
Hogben
is
is
reflexes.
and be
as
the behaviour
As Professor
The more
this
achievement
*
brought into being.
is
studied, the
more
57
CHAPTER
II
CHARACTERISTICS OF SCIENTIFIC
METHOD
SCIENTIFIC
it
is
we
if
exists.
In arriving at a
scientific
quenceTaTf
facts.
body of
The
significance,
of a
fact
is
scientific Jmowleclge..
is
establish or refute
though
it
starts
from the
all, is likely
if
who,
artist,
he deigns^ to notice
them
to notice
facts at
of a
Science, in^ts^jiliimaJ^idejJjCO
set
of
propositions arnmgl__in^ji_Jiie^^
levcfof the
acsan
hierar^iiybein^cjanc^^
trie highest with some
general law,
e various
governing everything in the umverse
intKe
Is
hiera3x!hy^Tiavea^
logical
deduction. That
is
should proceed
A, B, C, D, ctc.^suggest
all
There
it is
be
many
this perfection
physics
may help
is
bc^
has, as yet,
physics.
The
come anywhere
consideration of
we
number of
facts,
and formulated
his three
laws as to their
tides,
*
usually happens with a successful generalization,
showed not merely why the previous laws were right,
but also
which
why
move
is
To
who
view gave
rise to
pure mathematics,
it
law of gravitation
as
61
Einstein
is
right as against
Newton.
Einstein's
law
Newton's theory, but also the theory of electromagnetism, the science of spectroscopy, observation'
oT' light pressure, and the power of minute astronnrnirql observation, which we owe to large telescopes and the perfecting of the technique of
photography. Without all these preliminaries,
Einstein's theory could not have been both discovered and demonstrated. But when the theory is
set forth in mathematical form we start with the
generalized law of gravitation, and arrive at the end
of our argument at those verifiable consequences
upon which, in the inductive order, the law was
based.
difficulties
of
is
truly astonishing
made
in
an
exists.
has
significant
equally
fast
fact that,
more
concerned,
acceleration.
all
falling
The
must be treated
earth's attraction.
effect
as
bodies
The
essential thing
is
always to
This
is
why experiment
in isolation
may
become observable.
what actually happens
'*.
these one
by jme
it is
very
difficult to observe.
much
63
illustration
of the
significant fact.
mutual
64
how
three bodies
their
when one
much
the theory of Einstein, which is much more complicated than Newton's, it is impossible to work out
with theoretical exactness even how two bodies
will
move under
possible to
tion for all
is
human
powers.
The
ment is possible
ROTATION PERIOD OF URANUS.
:
determinations of this
slightest possibility
Who
opinions.
the
is
opinions?
It is
an odd
is
no
a
d o~ubt whatev^er_thaf Tie.JiL .exa5Iy~~^^g^ t ~^ f
practice of theologians to laugh at science because
1>s
it
"Look
at
they say.
asserted at the Council of Nicea we
changes.
scientists
still
asserted only
assert;
two or
Men who
"What we
us,"
is
now
that
believed in science
it is
is
exactly right;
he
asserts
66
is
certainly
known
When
is
is
replaced by something slightly more accurate. Suppose you measured yourself with a rough apparatus,
is
precisely analo-
gous.
ut
is,
think, sometimes
it
an
illustration. It
of repetitions
reflexes
required
to
establish
the
number
conditioned
and protons.
There, it is true, quantitative precision may be
possible, but to pass back by calculation from pure
physiCTTo the' phenomena of animal behaviour *is
beyond human power, at any rate at present, and
to stop short of the physics of electrons
One advantage
|
of quantitative
g___1
is
possible
is
that
it
gives
recision,
whrre
it
r"~h
observable
is,
that
men
hypotheses;
is
imagination
causing men
are essentially incapable of being visualized. In
Bohr's theory of the atom, for example, there was a
highly abstract constituent, which was in
hood
true,
but
this abstract
all likeli-
imaginative
details
upon
which we make
induction, which,
such
facts will
bbservable,
is
be observable;
therefore
true,
now
the hypothesis
is
.probably
An argument
but
this
is
we could
arrive at
is
will
is, it
be
possible
found that more
facts.
this fact
hypothesis.
cats
tails,
all
is
You
is
There
is
jiamcly, analysis.
science, at
It is
anyTate
jsojdnnjj_^mu^
generally assumed by men of
as a
concrete occurrence
is
each of which,
might
which
produce some different result
actually occurs; and that the resultant can be
causes,
acting
separately,
from that
air,
bodies will
The
laws can,
fall
in
in air.
this
way,
we can
calculate
how
we can
isolate
them one
at a time. It
must be
said,
delicate calculations.
1
CHAPTER
III
details of history
in a sense; that
and geography
lie
outside science
presupposed by
science, and form the basis upon which it is a superstructure. The sort of things that are demanded on
is
heavenly bodies,
facts.
That
is
may
to say,
be regarded as brute
as such,
but
strictly
history, I believe,
good argument to
myth.
exist; I
am
am
73
establish laboratories at
of them
men
is
of us should verify
all
be recognized.
To
there
revert to history: as
is
we proceed
exist? Probably.
Did Romulus
exist?
Probably not.
Did Remus exist? Almost certainly not. But the
difference between the evidence for Napoleon and
Romulus
is
c^>mes^}atkL_ux-*^^
Does the sun exist? Most people would say that
74
1 1
1 1
O IM S OF
U JJ
direct experience in
does not, but in thinking
from us in space
The
1 JH
ME
U 1 E JN T 1 F I U
as
Napoleon
The sun
removed
removed from us in
is
is
is
known
to us only
through
its effects.
the intervening ninety-three million miles, and produced an effect upon the retina, the optic nerve, and
The
effect
indistinguishable
produces.
The
sun,
^^^^N^^Sfc*'
effect
therefore,
is
v^*
MI
of
alTpatch
>fc^-^^ *^* brightness
SJ * ~. *
-
[t is
less
is
characteristic of the
and
less is
is,
of course,
it
is
nevertheless mistaken.
75
Many
fact,
it is
the
experienced
what
;and
(3)
is
76
is
character,
it
(i)
Induction.
last resort
"If this
this
is
All
inductive
arguments
the
in
true, that
is
true
true." This
is
fallacious.
it is
fo r ts,
oj^y-
We
its
practical importance
is
regions where it
verified the laws of statics, for example, in countless
in building a bridge;
in regard to the bridge, they are not verified until
we find that the bridge stays up, but their impor-
cases,
tance
lies
will
this
is
77
be a valid one.
unfortunately, no one has hitherto shown
any good reason for supposing that this sort of
inference is sound. Hume, nearly two hundred
Now,
indignant,
perceived
had
they
Hume.
been
unsuccessful
in
answering
It is
MIH
"Rejgsnn
fnr
cocktails^
it
^fH^^*"***^^*****
**
"M;;
without sharp
agrceable but
7
is
(distinctions,
it
and
all
of
vaguely
it
7a
"
"~~
'
As we
may
you
see
means of
your mind
a Pavlov conditioned
reflex,
bring into
the word "Jones," and so you say you see Jones ; but
other people, looking out of their windows from
different angles, will see something different, owing
to the laws of perspective therefore, if they arc all
:
you
call "seeing
Some of the
light quanta,
eye.
They
there cause
When
this
event.
The
remote, roundabout causal connection. Jones himself, meanwhile, remains wrapped in mystery. He
thinking about his dinner, or about how his
investments have gone to pieces, or about that
may be
umbrella he
lost
a wall in
had
wall
would
your garden and
it
be, if a ball
bounced off
closely
analogous.
We
what we think we
see. Is there any reason to think that what we think
we see exists, although we do not see it? Science has
ajwjiys prided jtsclf on being empirical
do
may
80
subsequently
can't
you
see
the
me?" But
words
"Yes,
you
idiot,
if you
The
point
is
common
to each other.
common
man in the
if their
is
81
my
laws
may employ
question
whether
hypothetical
is
otiose, since
it lies
He may,
form an argument by
in fact,
It
in
be admitted, it does
not allow us to conclude that the sun and stars exist,
this
or, indeed,
any
lifeless
if it
matter.
We
amj3uj^cJl^j3JL.Sa^
faith,
whjch igajnjac tg thqught_dominatcd by the principle
of
the conditioned reflex. It was this animal faith
~~-
from a
set
other event
of
has
known
occurred,
some
occurring, or will
such an inference with
is
we
all
If the answer
justified in
our
is
in the negative,
belief.
we can never be
answer
is
forthcoming, one
way or
another, the
which we
see
drawn
The most
that can be
mathematically,
imaginatively
is
in
common between
that
it
plays
the
senses.
In
though it may resemble it in nothing except structure. At best, therefore, we can only know concerning
the physical world such properties as the gramophone
84
common,
not such as
other. jQrdinajy
language
is
totally
as
little
the
translates his
much
bc"cause
of
its
intellectual
say that
all reality is
concrete,
and that
in
making
from
its
abstraction
is
Iikely_toj3e_^olly_j^
music may be beautiful, while the gramophone
record is aesthetically null from the point of view of
imaginative vision, such as an epic poet may desire
;
in
properties
it
of the
relations
among
the
logical
differenl
conscious or unconscious,
Now
power is
obtain power over any given material one need
only understand the causal laws to which it is subject.
This is an essentially abstract matter, and the more
irrelevant details we can omit from our purview, the
more powerful our thoughts will become. The same
possessor.
sort of thing
The
who knows
every corner oi
his farm, has a concrete
knowledge of wheat, and
sphere.
cultivator,
stock exchange.
86
difficult to
and mcchanism^Adck--nQ-Iess
The power
CHAPTER
IV
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
IT
is
man
in street
that
entities
The
appear in the
physicists'
equations.
it is
true,
itself to
be ignored by
scientists,
and was
it
any
could
in fact ignored.
of careful
experiments.
physics
is
NOTE.
88
I Believe,"
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
which had previously no room
to
expand.
When
the
helRnaissance it
and in like manner ' we>.
astrology and necromancy,
<-~-^-- <~>
^^.^ ^^2Jthe^_^^^>
^^ lead
scientific
mustexpcct the_aecayjDf
faithjx)
t
scientist really
ledge. This
is
Milky Way,
stars in our neighbourhood. Light
travels 186,000
is
systems
of stars
There
is,
bubble while
it is
being blown.
An eminent
astrono-
its
radius
is
doubled
89
not
mean by
this that
enunciating untrue; I
are capable of an interpretation which turns the
WljoetfeT' wishes_-tqkrioA^
tter
han
^^^.
read
.
LJ^uj$-^title^--^^
of tJfr-PhfswaLM&dd.
^^
V He will learn there that physics
4
is divided into three departments. The first contains
all the laws of classical physics, such as the conserva-^^-~-~*
*-f
tion
M.
of energy and
momentum and
the law of
gravitation. All these, according to Professor Eddington, boil down to nothing but Qoni^nljfijQ^_as to
measurement ;
but so
which,
is
The second
depart-
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
ment of physics is concerned with large aggregatcsand the laws jpf chance.. Here we do not attempt to
prove that such and such an event is impossible, but
only that it is wildly improbable. The third department of physics, which is the most modern, is the
theory, and this is the most disturbing of
since itfseems to show that perhaps the law of
quantum
all,
causality, in
To
"The key
to the
that
it is
me from
saying
argument which
have
difficulty in following.
Of
the practical consecjuenccs which j&cdeduce from the abstract theory, as, for example,
all
course,
that
we
official physics,
at
all.
pKysics
is
whichnaevcjMrc^ch^
cannot but suspect, however, that
just a
little bit
However
official
that
may
be,
it
it is
an important sign
come now
which
is
supposed to do before the quantum theory was invented, so that in regard to them the older physics is
very nearly right. There is, however, one supremely
important law which is only statistical; this is the
second law of thermodynamics. It states, roughly
speaking, that the world is growing continuously
more
disorderly.
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
of cards comes from the maker's with the cards
is
be
sort of
ever
will
this
at one time
for a material system to pass from state
to state B at anoUier, the opposite transition will be
is
To
of
many
93
it is
let
my
improbable. "If
fingers wander idly over the keys of a
it is very
typewriter
it
hot body cools and cold body gets warm until the
two reach the same temperature, but this also is
only a law of probability. It might happen that a
kettle filled with water put on the fire would freeze
instead of boiling
this also
is
states,
speaking generally,
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
that the universe tends towards democracy, and that
when it has achieved that state, it will be incapable
full
of inequalities than
now, but
it is
it
go to
will gradually
Oiiantl"n theory
?*^
virinal
sleep.
wkirh
j
and rkrtro"^
jg_
rnnrprnrH wiih
**M
i>s
in
iH i-
a gtatc pf rapid
far from its__jinaldevelopment, a.nH_is prnfevhly !.,-.form. In the hands of Heisenberg, Schrodingcr and
Co. it has become more disturbing and more revolu.1.
J.
- ---"-
~"
to the
non-
amount of free
behaviour, even in
95
is
which we thought
but
is
it
how
if
in
modern
right,
the rest
96
if
tells
us
Eddington
it tells
is
is
physics provides. It
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
As
will
finally
umverse
will consist
view
probably the most important thing about such a
theory of physics is that it will destroy, if it becorrTeT
point.. .of
able.
By learning
all
nature's laws
we could hope
to
97
world,
is
exponent
collapse of die
supposcthat_ machin
frvive
has science- to
contribute to metaphysics? Academic philosophers,
eveT~smce" the time of Tar
that tEe^worlcT
is
a unity.
taken
This_viewjias been
over from
its
- - -
_.
_.
_, .^
___ ,_
'
^ ____
intellectual
is all
98
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
have led them that they have been abandoning
logic for theology in shoals^ Every day some new
physicist publishes a new pious volume to conceal
from himself and others the fact that in his scientific
capacity he has plunged the world into unreason and
unreality. To take an illustration What are we to
:
He
There
is
some reason
probable, or in what,
travel, the physicist, Jike the Mad
"^havc had enough of thjsj. suppose
it
is
that
Hatter, replies
we change the subject."
:
is
To
we appear to
woddjsjield-by many to.J}ejdue
they,
to
99
threatened by Bolshevism:
^religion is also threatened by^ BolshevismJ
icrcfore religion and science are allied It follows^
>of jxnirse, that science, if pursued with sufficient
J jthcjgj^rejcjencc
is
ness of the
The
\
pious professors.
odd thing is that, at the very
moment when
physics, Vhich is the fundamental science, is undermining the whole structure of applied reason anc]
'presenting us with a world of unreal and fantastk
dreams in place of the Newtonian order and solidity,
human
life.
the
possibly
hereafter,
exist.
There
The
is
intellectual
solution
equally possibly,
fact is that science
or,
may be
found
no solution may
physicists,
I
uo
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
onjthepne hand
and on the
^thlT hn^ -ay educated commoiTscnse. As a met'aphysic it has been undermined by its own success.
Mathematical technique is now so powerful that it
can find a formula for even the most erratic world.
Plato and Sir James Je^ns think
^rojes:
as a mctaphysic,
made a world
Ut
unity,
is
Ts<ee"no evidence in
and
ol
(m
lite,
my
but iriTexists,
^Eternal
it jconsists
world
may
be ah iftnsl5n
as
truly
as arc catalogues
and
cncyclo;.
limits,
JQJ
we have
of
scientific
When
rectangle of integers.
'erhas
theonultimatevaju^^
found
It Js
this
it is
-Of
aspectoi
science which appears to be succumbing to the
Quasi religious
SCIENTIFIC METAPHYSICS
science have felt th prn
*h**
higb-prirsti'LQL a
melyj the_cult^d[J;ruth ; not truth as the
vp<!
vision
soul. It
is
men
is
if
the
knows that he
is
respected,
and
feels that
he does
"may
hayf,
s.ppH
to
pcncd;
there
the
old
example,
who w^g
a|
cojltinue.
r>n^
still
^ardour
a
persists,
Homer
and
Lane, for
a sair^ was
an "nnHpgirablp
<p^g^ ^^r}
PolW
103
trouble
is
solution, if there
one,
is
its
to be sought in logic.
triumphant
truth
being killed by
orHic^mcn of science has generated, That this is a
misfortune is undeniable, but I cannot admit that
is
the substitution of superstition for scepticism advocated by many of our leading men of science would
Outcome Of
104
CHAPTER V
SCIENCE AND RELIGION
IN recent times, the bulk of eminent physicists and
a number of eminent Biologists have made pro-
somewhat tentative and indefinite, but the theologians have seized upon them and extended them,
while the newspapers in turn have reported the
more sensational accounts of the theologians, so that
hi ir. |ias derjvp^
thaf
general J>n
thejrnpres<;inn
physics confirms practically the whole of the Book
of Genesis. I do not myself think that the moral to
the
is
at all
what the
rather
in
their
capacity
of good
men
conservative,
temperamentally timid.
citizens,
The first
made all
examine what
while in
human
its
beings,
showed an
law
in the universe,
miracles.
God had
to catch
men
the heart
felt."
06
The
ics
wh pt her
certainty
arf
therfi
is
in part
random.
It
is
the
thought possible that the laws governing
behaviour of large bodies may be merely statistical
number
laws, expressing the average result of a large
be. In the
possible that others may
atom there are various possible states which do not
merge continuously into each other, but are separated
laws,
and
by small
it is
finite gaps.
one of
states
to
and it is
place on ?ny given occasion,,
atmri s nnt subject to laws at all
'
what might be
called,
by
107
that the
mind
possible transitions at a
ance with
its
volition.
uncaused. If he
The
volition
itself,
he thinks,
but
is
Har5Ic"to
is
of human beings^
Before examining this position
should like to
name
as
*thcrc will
108
ajicLJJie
i
*o
accurately
vice versa.
particle
will, for
admirably
the
present
Einstein
century.
is
nature.
Turner has pointed out (Nature, December 27, 1930), "Tfce use to which the Principle of
Indeterminacy has been put is largely due to an
"
In one sense
ambiguity in the word 'detcrmincoV
As
J. E.
a quantity
determined when
is
is
measured, in
determined when it is
is
it
caused.
and
The
of ^^^^"^''^^'^^^T*
.a particle arc declared by the
l
rmciplc to be undetermined in the sense that they
cannot be accurately measured. This is a
position
*
_
-.
...
_j
physical
fact causally
-
"
109
ing
is
physical event
is
sense of 'caused,'
is
a fallacy of equivocation."
atom
its
is
supposed
not
known
capricious. It
is
is
known
is
to
same
is
subject. Descartes
had
is
experimental physicists,
momentum was
to
be abandoned
at the
who may
at
mercy of the
any momenT
of individual
110
is
uj)on^.jIecjoOgngranc^jvhich may be
only momcntar\J And the effects of this procedure,
structure
so far as
it
make men
made.
There
</
human
mechanism, and by no means demands the hypothesis of complete lawlessness, which is found to be
false wherever it can be carefully tested.
.who desire caprice in the physical world
seem to me to have failed to realize what tnis would
involve. All inference in regard to thccoursc of
c^u&ftliiul iT uaiure is "not^siihjert to
causal, laws all such infereli^m^stlalllWe. cannot,
is
in that case,
know anything
existence --e-<rtrreT~people,
ow
leua
can
orVven of our
\vt infer
gians
God.
desire.
The
in
of his
is
cheering
own
example, that
bank
his
account
will
is
his
him and
honour
his
that
he
altogether too
is
a procedure.
naive
in fact,
is,
is
To
however, that
this
is
sufficiently solid
premise
TO
'
'
'
^\ej>
""
^^^i "9
^uj-
^^-
____ j-
'
the
by the theolo^ians who hold, apparently, that
^ ^^
temand for consistency belongs to the cold reason
aarf muSt not interfere with our deeper religioug
r
**
""i
r^iirn
-L^_^___^n>'Si~"'*
>^*B
^"***<*i
feelings.
We
upon
wTth another
"3
says Sir
of
exists
is
still
whojargue as
if human life were the purpose of creation seem
tdlijc
as faulty in their astronomy as they arc excessive in
their estimation of themselves and their fellowr
creaturcs. 1 shall not attempt to summarize Jeans s
admirable chapters on Modern physics, matter and
radiation, and relativity and the ether; they are
already as brief as possible, and no summary can
do them justice. I will, however, quote Professor
Jeans's
own summary
in order to
appetite.
"To sum
materials, of the
tiicory
3f__the
tW
whilff
thf*
s^face of the
174
of time.
fr>]]r
And
is
to
matical
Deitv
because of His interes^injtsjtnathe*^
-<"'
m
matical properties. This part has pleased the
-
'
<
x^""*
in
have
theologians. Theologians
-~
~- _^
-
for
grown
--- - ---grateful
small mcrcies and they do not much care what sort
oTGod the man of science gives them so
rives them
irJ[arnes Jeans's
passion for doing sums, but
*-*
--*uj?
'
Jut
S*!_^-., -
..,.....,!.-.
*"*""*?*
pi
^^thcmatJGian,
is
quite indifferent as
what the sums are about. By prefacing his argument by a lot of difficult and recent physics, the
eminent author manages to give it an air of profundity which it would not otherwise possess. In
essence the argument is as follows since two apples
and two apples together make four apples, it follows
that the Creator must have known that two and two
are four. It might be objected that, since one man
and one woman together sometimes make three,
the Creator was not yet quite as well versed in sums
to
as
Jeans reverts
explicitly
to
the
Sir
James
theory of Bish<
BeTI
"""""
exist
we observe
in th
nn thinking ahn^t
cease to
The
mind
at
"can best be
pictured, although still very imperfectly and inadeas consisting of pure thought, the thought
quately,
'oTwhat, for want of a wider word, we must describe
as a mathematical thinker." A little later we are
.11.
*^
J^^
told
thatjthe laws governing God's thoughts arc
those which govcrn^Kcphenome
alj_jimes.
universe,
he
'
says,
|p
*a
The argument
"""
'
'
'
nr
proving
that_jjjflTe.rf;nt
of symbols have
because of this symbolic
rpllf;c,tiops
the samf^jr^eaning. It is
character that it can be studied without the help of
experiment. Physics, on the contrary, however
mathematical
it
all
throughout
is
to
the physicist.
wathephysicist
is
say,
asserts
when he
And
uses mathematics
it
never loses
its
relation to
we
in
opfratio"
If he
had ever
To
is.
The
desire
to
trace
curves
a.nH
rrpj^
it
is
this desire
that Sir
James Jeans
when
a.
mm
One
117
much muddle-headedness.
so
once
cxtremelylearned
t
commend
this
difficulties
is
are
into
less
complex
elements, and no process by which they can be built
up is known. This, however, is not the most important
or difficult respect in which the world is running
down. Although we do not know of any natural
process by which complex elements are built up
out of simpler ones, we can imagine such processes,
and it is possible that they are taking place somewhere. But when we come to the second law of
thermodynamics we encounter a more fundamental
perpetually
disintegrating
difficulty.
states,
roughly
it
to
its
when
particles
and a number
sets
other,
process
until
may
an irreversible
process, and that in the past energy must have been
more unevenly distributed than it is now. In view
democracy.
It will
be seen that
this is
"9
is
now
con-
some definite
though unknown number of electrons and protons,
sidered to be
there
is
finite,
and
to consist of
preceded by any other, if the second law of thermodynamics was then valid. This initial state of the
120
p.
83
ff.
still
higher organization
nor,
think,
is
the limit
one which
is
as
it
has stood
feel
deadlock.
will
The
scientific
argument leading
to the
now
121
orthodoxy
is
insufficient to swallow,
although the
had a beginning
at
some
definite,
though unknown,
date.
Are we
to infer
reason whatever
from
why
inferences
whcrT they
is
is,
no
therefore,
better
we can
observe.
Nor
there, so far as I
is
can
see,
any particular
whether
was
it
not,
it is
what
it is.
If somebody tried
to sell
Some
people
not included
is
that if
again
when
part, I
be
God
do not
made
less so
how an
by the
indefinitely repeated.
because
am
reflection that
No
my
it
is
to be
is
The
may
if)
is
ffe not? If
He
is
not,
He
dynamics to
Him
He
also
had
to
123
know
had
their counterparts at earlier times. Eddington's argument about free will and the brain is, as
all
we
saw, closely parallel to Descartes s. Jeans's argument is a compound of Plato and Berkeley, and has
no more warrant
in physics than
it
had
at the time
it
We
by modern
physics. As a matter of fact, there has been a change
in the technique of physics. In old days, whatever
its
refutation
philosophers might say, physics proceeded technically on the assumption that matter consisted of hard
little
lumps.
Now
it
no longer does
so.
But few
is
dead,
whether matter
consists
of hard
little
lumps or of
biology, physiology,
(4)
Evolutionary Theology.
rarded
and
^b.i
is still
.^^
whoTe-schoc
fiindam
in evolution
unfolding^ through
the mind of a
tjie ageSx^Some place this Plan in
Creator, while others regard it as immanent in the
the
truth
of
the
Christian
the
in
it
to support life
is,
at this
we suppose
merit in the
tail
points with pride it is to the soul of man. Unfortunately, there is no impartial arbiter to decide on
:
human
when
into
bacteriological
my
part,
their
warfare,
meannesses,
cruelties and oppressions, I find them, considered
somewhat
is
the
crucial
unconvinced by the
arguments in favour of purpose that I have seen.
question. I
am, however,
entirely
127
plants
on the
which the
is
is
all
unable to sec
the purposes
has really designed
organic
life.
Nor
many
New-born
conditioned
the
manner studied
It is
that they learn to confine their efforts after nourishment to the breast. Sucking in infants is at first an
128
reflex,
now
There
process that can rightly be
called mysterious.
this
I
never-
is
do not mean
peculiarities.
to say that
it is all
fully
"We
may,
com-
Take again
Matter,
more
p.
particu-
n.
1*9
hood. In
this
body can,
subjects,
in
rigid as
To
But
all this,
with the
mind ? As
We may
the reader
behaviour and to their physical prosince these alone are observable. I do not mean
itself to their
cesses,
that
130
Hogben, op.
cit., p.
in.
demand
its
the
which we could
a mind.
The
theory of the
conditioned reflex deals satisfactorily with all those
cases in which it was formerly thought that a mental
entity
causation
is
behaviour
of the animal.
seem
call
When we come
human
we
behaviour of human
to
beings,
no extraneous
agent called mind acting upon them. But in the case
is
of human beings this statement is much more questionable than in the case of other animals, both
human
beings is more
complex, and because we know, or think we know,
through introspection, that we have minds. There
no doubt that we do know something about ourselves which is commonly expressed by saying that
we have minds but, as often happens, although we
know something it is very difficult to say what we
know. More particularly it is difficult to show that
is
movements that we
will
call voluntary. It
is,
however,
may
be)
is
a mere concomitant.
Or
perhaps,
no longer matter
we
call
our
be made. There
Fun the worj
>~
-
mestion
*
H;-
from its
^of exclusively, a form of what
^i^*""**^^*^"*
"*
*i
ni^ii
may be^allcdpowerconccrncd to
composed.
The
highly
abstract
scheme of
compose
not
sulrirelfflrig
to give
the
rnind^or for that matter~aHout the actual constitution of what we regard as matter. The billiard-balls
of old-fashioned materialism were far too concrete
and sensible to be admitted into the framework of
133
same
The
nf thf>
anrl
nnrWctnnfi
fvacily
gimplp
It depends only upon the relative positions of the
fulcrum, force, and resistance. It may happen that
prinrjplp
lf>ypr is
we
perceive
it is
full
it is
some of it
is
not
suggesting that if
mnr*rnprl
ic
we knew
am
these properties
_an
in all
it
this sort oj
.
^______
of anything but thcir4>hysical and chemical properties^JLn -saying this we are, of course, going beyond
what can at present be said with any certainty, but
'33
One
in
it
fromthe
The same
say,
134
it
is
true,
by E. D. Adrian, 1928.
Purpose
(p. 288).
Morgan's opinion
is false.
For aught
know
to the
who
and
day,
if
himself may
am
told that
hospitals. Again, I
can
T^inrWH
thf*
if this is
wnrlH
duccd in accordance with a Plan, we gjiall havpjtorcckon Nero a saint in comparison with t\\^ A'lfoftr
t
infer
those
is
Purpose
from the
who
fact that
believe in
it.
no evidence
We
adduced by
is
We
have reviewed in
this
chapter a
number of
We
is
more
rationalist. It
is,
uncompromising
it is
the
"
,
As Professor TTbgben
The
says
bowed
Compromise to
science
Tt
j^pt;
issue
shall find
an
relapses into
men have
derived from science into the right channels ; nor will philosophic scepticism as to the foundations arrest the course of scientific technique in the
world of
affairs.
Men
need a
op.
faith
cit., p.
28.
which
is
robust
is
in
knowledge is to lose
capacities and therefore I
faith
j3LnyLJo-ih.c.
timid
138
PART
II
SCIENTIFIC TECHNIQUE
CHAPTER
VI
technique and traditional arts and crafts. The essential characteristic of scientific technique is the
utilization of natural forces in
is
clothing,
structed
presupposed
housing,
certain
men want
to
apparatus of
food, offspring,
amusement, and
glory.
Unin-
all
is
due
to scientific
human
desire
enough
human
to eat
race,
or at any rate of
more energetic
a mere increase of
its
The
races,
is
meanwhile,
is
The
unscientific. This,
earliest
is
known,
for
Rome and
other
early
civilized
communities.
in preference to
the
ass.
To one
much, but
it
this
may
man and
primitive
and
life, all
own
(if
he lived at
all)
of modern
When
life fatal
he could bear
no longer he
left
China, and
disappeared
believed
a view which
is
no longer objected
It was Courts and
to roads
late
"Return
to nature"
to those conditions to
exists at the
it
time of Rousseau.
as
speech,
fire,
and the
printing,
from a
centre,
like
anything
though
its
this last
present
empire
perfection
before
the
without too
fitted in,
work of
traditional
much
life,
difficulty, to the
at
frame-
no point
effects
in words that
had become
and
full
possible, in poetry, to
write a letter, but difficult to speak over the teleis
phone
a
it is
fiery steed,
go much
but
faster
difficult, in
I think,
owing
to
on
any
is
effects
of science
its
usefulness in
the
Child,
is
men can
valid,
is,
I think, largely
method, namely, that it tends to avoid those intractable disputes which arise when private emotion is
regarded as the test of truth. Piaget ignores another
aspect of scientific method, namely, that it gives
power over the environment and also power of
adaptation to the environment. It may be, for
example, an advantage to be able to predict the
weather, and
if
one
man
is
right
on
this point
while
him
his
companions
are
as in the wrong. It
is
test
M7
inanimate
world
is
concerned.
It
has
had
the future.
The
essential novelty
about
scientific
technique
is
pre-scientific,
is
which succeeded
own
day,
is
it
The
and
by a
scientific if it is regulated
careful
--
nitrates, since it
~^.-
- -*-**-
spirit
this spirit
which
contrasted with
is
it is
modern times as
and it is because of
characteristic of
Nevertheless
all.
power of man
in relation to his
149
CHAPTER
VII
think
inanimate environment.
however,
In
more
familiar
in the
realm
of machinery.
TECHNIQUE
IN
INANIMATE NATURE
devoid. This
sense
electric current
is
likely to do.
One
this
dependence. Gradually,
as men acquired more knowledge, they became
increasingly able to command sources of power
which
left
their
own muscles
unfatigued.
Some
the horse to
been a
it
is
easy.
human
will
of their tamers.
is
great advances
have sprung originally from disinterested motives.
Scientific discoveries have been made for their
all
disinterested
love
and a race of
of knowledge
scientific
technique. Take, for example, the theory of electromagnetic waves, upon which the use of wireless
depends. Relevant
scientific
was due
to Hertz,
electro-magnetic
TECHNIQUE
IN
INANIMATE NATURE
of any
it
and
One
of the most
difficult
problems of modern
The supply
of
oil
in the
world
is
limited,
and
oil is
this
shows, industrial
example
technique can never become static
and
as
expensive
through
traditional
former times.
But,
rarity.
agricultural technique
did in
be perpetually necessary to
invent new processes and to find new sources of
power, owing to the extraordinary rapidity with
which we are consuming our terrestrial capital.
There
It
will
are, of course,
some
practically inexhaustible
however, even
if fully
now be manufactured.
The dependence upon natural
can
products which
we
154
which
is
TECHNIQUE
IN
INANIMATE NATURE
news on
written
word
may
it
in future be realized.
tration:
the
latitudes 30
and supports
To
take another
illus-
at present, in
many
regions, a
much
became
insufficient to support
life,
why we
should not
make
it
intellectual arguments,
is
proving
peasant or fisherman, to
is
whom
To
droughts or storms
the typical
interesting on account of
it
modern mind
what it is, but
may be made
become.
The important characteristics of things from this
point of view are not their intrinsic qualities, but
their uses. Everything is an instrument. If you ask
what it is an instrument to, the answer will be that
it is an instrument for the making of instruments,
which
will in turn
make
it
still
to
more powerful
instru-
human
156
life.
make
the complete
TECHNIQUE
IN
INANIMATE NATURE
modern
industrialist
than
that
history
new
when
era in
how much
this
human
they could do
if
they
tyranny
is
to be expected.
57
CHAPTER
VIII
TECHNIQUE IN BIOLOGY
SCIENTIFIC technique has been applied by human
beings to satisfy a number of diverse desires. At first
the
its
trivial
influenced
by
the
Industrial
Revolution;
the
TECHNIQUE
IN
BIOLOGY
all living
bodies,
ammonia which
it
contains),
not the case.
remained
to discover how plants obtained nitrogen from the
soil. This problem was studied by two men, Lawes
and Gilbert, who throughout a period of sixty years
conducted a series of experiments at Rothamsted,
it
is
to
to
ammonia and
60
TECHNIQUE
limited in quantity,
through
it
IN
BIOLOGY
becoming
Nowadays,
however, nitrates are artificially manufactured from
the nitrogen in the air a source which is, for all
practical purposes, inexhaustible. The amount of
nitrate produced in this way is now greatly in excess
of that obtained from all other sources. By means
of nitrate
fertilizers
of
this
calculation,
that
3 spent in producing
as much to the world's
very interesting
life
has
Most
much
in
Nature , October
and
n,
1930.
161
by
certain
specially
control of malaria
noteworthy
and yellow
instances.
fever
The
by preventing
made
it
possible
many
field
of research, which
is
important in various
food supply.
how many of my
readers
know
162
yet
it
TECHNIQUE
article states: "It
is
IN
BIOLOGY
1921 due to
crop and forest pests alone reached the huge total
of
136,000,000, while the death-roll among the
losses
in
about
30,000,000
is
lost
(Busseola fusca),
incurred
losses
of about
fumigation.
The
latter,
interest-
fleas,
when
more
urgent.
163
new
habitat,
no question of transference to
a great deal can be done, in many
is
cases,
by
artificial
familiar to everyone
is
who
under
glass: I
mean
Economic entomology is a subject of great importance, in which the United States is far ahead of the
potential usefulness in
the latter is at least as great as in the former. Such
problems as the extermination of the locust and the
British
Empire, though
its
TECHNIQUE
Kew, which
Board.
An
IN
Institute
One
is
BIOLOGY
The Canadian
which is another
5,000,000 annually. Potato blight,
kind of fungus, caused the Irish famine, and thence
led England to adopt free trade and Boston to ban
This particular disease has now
been brought under control, and England is about
to abandon free trade. The effect of the fungus on
Boston, however, appears to be more permanent.
modern
literature.
which the
sitka
spruce,
unblemished
of apparently
surprisingly large percentage
down. No sign of fungal
break
timber was at one time found to
infection could at first be seen ; but examination at the Institute
forests,
Risborough and
its
No
producing
qualities, has
become very
existed.
different
The
from
racehorse
especially
in
human
life
has
TECHNIQUE
IN
BIOLOGY
we may assume
that synthetic
beefsteaks will be served everywhere except at the
tables of millionaires. The cod may survive somewhat
scientific
power.
The need
need
depends.
The
life
have passed.
Food
is
already
possible
to
It is said to
manufacture
from
the
be
air
synthetic food
is
and
feasts, will
in the
main food
chemical
factories.
be manufactured in vast
The fields will fall out of cultivawill
be replaced by
chemical experts. In such a world, no biological
processes will be of interest to man except those that
tion,
will
63
TECHNIQUE
picture that he will tend
IN
BIOLOGY
to
view
what
what
human
beings.
He
will
come
to value only
169
CHAPTER
IX
TECHNIQUE IN PHYSIOLOGY
A
The
imitate.
The
if
working.
often
ill
to
be effected while
it is
An
The
less
physics
complex
opposed to a
lifeless
TECHNIQUE
PHYSIOLOGY
IN
fact that,
matter, but science is gradually coming to understand it, though as yet far from completely.
Nourishment the transformation of food into
various parts of the
a process of quite
aspects of it, for example
body
is
From
nourishment
is
compara-
it is fit
it
reaches
chemical agencies.
Growth
is
seen in
its
two
cells,
when
the
illness, it reverts,
foetus
a pre-existing
is
therefore,
to
analogous
strictly
the
And
self-preservative
it is,
of course, true
statistics.
The changes
in the death-rate
follows
as
1870
1929
..
..
..
..
..
..
22 -9 per thousand
13-4 per thousand
TECHNIQUE
IN
PHYSIOLOGY
form
of technique in physiology, the birth-rate has been
declining, as the following figures show
similar.
to another
1870
1929
, .
. .
. .
35 3 per thousand
16-3 per thousand
hand
it
will
be regretted by those
who
feel
ever,
may
how-
be counteracted by a prolongation of
physiological youth.
peoples
employed
artificial limitation
years
reproduction
of
various
fertility.
among
methods
During the
the
white
bar-
of
last fifty
races
has
prevention of impregnation
Artificial
respect,
though so
important. It
So
artificially.
used, but
is
it
not the
modern technique
'has
in
far,
when
far
is
we
it
impregnation
this process has not been much
has been perfected it may be a
This would, in
the course of a generation, confer a scarcity value on
women, and introduce overt or surreptitious polybirths.
andry.
The
by
would begin to preponderate. In the end, the State
would probably have to regulate the matter by a
bonus for the sex which was deficient at the moment.
These successive oscillations and administrative
measures would have bewildering effects upon
emotions and morals.
It is probable that the most important application
of physiological technique, in the long run, will be
to embryology. Hitherto medicine and even bio-
TECHNIQUE
PHYSIOLOGY
IN
its
case.
controversy as to the inheritance of acquired characters, and it seems clear that this does not occur in
the form in which
Lamarck believed
in
it.
No
operation
of X-rays,
they
develop
into
adults
may
chromosomes. Knowledge on
in its infancy. But since mutations occur, it is clear
that there are agencies which alter the hereditary
character of an organism.
1
When
175
it
may be
such a way
result. In that case, eugenics will no longer be the
only way of improving a breed.
ally in
with
far,
many
make valuable
addi-
number of
it
may become
do
likewise
176
is
The
prevented
by counter-
irritant chemicals.
possibility
unless
TECHNIQUE
IN
PHYSIOLOGY
near future.
While
it is
rather rash to
make detailed
prophecies,
it is, I think, fairly clear that in future a human
body, from the moment of conception, will not be
human
interference
beyond what
The
required for
tendency of scientific
is
and more
with
In
in this
way
scientific
this,
177
CHAPTER X
TECHNIQUE IN PSYCHOLOGY
AT
it
made
in this
way much
this
new
178
is
TECHNIQUE
PSYCHOLOGY
IN
ever,
thinking
time
that
intervals
were
the
relied
for
their
own
training,
power over
modern
had occasion
that
is
which
scientific thinking, as
already
to remark,
to say,
we have
is
at
of as
it
many and
thought the power impulse is refined and sublimated. When the Jesuits knew the technique for a
given effect, they were no longer concerned with the
effect
came about;
so
was
successful, they
make
to
Ho
TECHNIQUE
IN
PSYCHOLOGY
was found, are not arrived at by a series of syllogisms, having major premises which are universally
admitted
but in the eighteenth century it was
supposed that men of normal intelligence did arrive
at their opinions in this way. I do not mean to say
that men of normal intelligence supposed this about
it
each
other;
mean only
psychologists supposed
is
to
it.
that
When
the
Cacambo
who proceed
Voltaire's
make
theoretical
them
it,
is,
this
is
were
a quite recent
It
makes
what
is
positive,
technique of Pavlov.
Freud's purposes were primarily therapeutic. He
was concerned to cure people of the less extreme
this
usually
obstacles
182
arise
to
their
realization,
the
means
TECHNIQUE
IN
PSYCHOLOGY
phantasy and
upon the
reality. I
purposes "phantasy"
is
between
distinction
believes,
and
is
"reality"
is
official
view as
say that
reality is that which is generally accepted, while
phantasy is that which is believed only by an
individual or a group of individuals. This definition
may
"Because
stiffly:
am
Julius
thinks he
him
one
as
is
mad.
man's
We
should
mortal
is
be immortal, but
not conflict with
all like to
immortality
and we regard
does
man who
thinks he
is
im-
TECHNIQUE
IN
PSYCHOLOGY
inspired by a dangerous
lunatic. If social adjustment is the test of sanity, he
is
many
is
Take
as
an
on the Stock
rich
As
money, and
beliefs
not be gratified.
the reason
why
mean
When
and
scientific
method are
held in esteem.
I
science
I
human
desires,
all
the
less
rational parts
185
therapeutic, psycho-analysis
Considered as a
life.
a technique which
become
dominant
so
behaviour.
to interfere
The technique of
expensive.
as
psycho-analysis where
as yet slow,
is
with social
cumbrous, and
applications of
only be
made on a very
small scale. l It
however,
already evident that moral and emotional education
has hitherto been conducted on wrong lines, and
is,
may
be absorbed into
has
its
B.
Watson,
am
is
first
Intellectual
1
86
Growth
in
sight
this
is
truth in both,
Th
TECHNIQUE
IN
PSYCHOLOGY
much
quite so
The
reflex corresponds
As a technique
for acquiring
I think, superior to psycho-
soldiers
it
conflicts
reflex.
unceasingly, or
Hell as
open
way
the problems
it
manner.
So
we have been
human
of cretinism.
others
by administering
artificially the
substances
88
TECHNIQUE
The
IN
PSYCHOLOGY
is,
however no
a priori
reason
why
if it is
China
tea. It
is
may become
One of the
declensions; now, under the influence of psychoanalysis, it begins at birth. It is to be expected that
to
mould
doubt that
it
will increase
enormously in the
190
CHAPTER
XI
TECHNIQUE IN SOCIETY
THE
it
are
not
and
class to
it
which a
On
must
Darwinian arguments
view
all
bias,
on
one
social
such arguments it is impossible to see an application of science to practical affairs. There is merely
all
we owe
it is,
genuine.
192
Now
which the
TECHNIQUE
INI
SOCIETY
is
to adopt the
mankind any
by
its
we
believe
striking.
So long
desired result
is
Considered
as
an impression
made, the
is
achieved.
scientifically,
have
advertisements
For
scientific
purposes
suggest
the
and B, be
B abomin-
it is
animal, more of
anyone, in
fact,
will
would be the
result?
to
be
the Churches
become more
advan-
as
TECHNIQUE
IN
we may hope
of printing),
SOCIETY
for
a great revival of
On
faith.
They
are, it
is
true,
fact that
subject of education,
which
is
it
them.
Up
practice
will
be convenient
State or the
the
for
who
to
it is
do productive work;
it is
may
To
those
is
especially
who
control
is
195
producing a
at
who
Among
more
scientific
In
way a conditioned
this
reflex
is
established,
One
certainly,
on the whole,
beneficent.
The purpose
is
in
anarchy and
civil
own
war
is
welfare.
The tendency
to
bad.
On
anarchy,
196
it
is
TECHNIQUE
IN
SOCIETY
The Stammering
Century by Gilbert Seldcs, and compare it with
America at the present day. In the nineteenth
new
Read,
for
example,
century
sects
of whole
cities.
existed in
England
Germany
modern world
great sources of
uniformity in addition to education these are the
Press, the cinema, and the radio.
there
are
three
The
Press has
a result
much whether
or a small circulation
A foreign correspondent
his
is
misstatements of
facts.
For
all
these reasons, of
England, to a small number of newspapers, or, as in America, to a small number of syndicated groups of newspapers. The difference beween
either, as in
be known
if
they desire
be unknown except
to
it
be unknown, it
few pertinacious
to
TECHNIQUE
IN
SOCIETY
is
in England, where it is
than in America, where it
is
announce "It
:
to
make a
villagers
all
is
the
Home
Secretary
who
has
come
laughed, but
if
less
remote
cinema
concerned, the technical reasons for largescale organizations leading to almost world-wide
is
The
costs
of a good
99
own
countries
derive
their
ideas
in seeing
We
learn from
them
that
always rewarded.
True, the reward is rather gross, and such as a more
old-fashioned virtue might not wholly appreciate.
sin
is
is
We know
is
200
virtuous,
TECHNIQUE
world that almost
all
IN
SOCIETY
become known
negligible.
this for
the
producers
of cinemas
it
may
have
turn out
been
the
pioneers.
>
So
far
we have been
scientific
many much
however,
and
74.
had
This change
ao i
is
have
all
tive.
who
care of children
inevitable, causing
unspeakable anguish in the course of a slow destruction of human life. And not only did people, even
in ordinary times, die at a
much
fashion
among
intellectuals to regard
our
is
more or
less
inappropriate to
modern
life.
TECHNIQUE
IN
SOCIETY
passing
the
last
twenty
years
it
through
would seem
The introduction
affairs
is
Take, for
and haphazard.
example, the matter of banking and credit.
as yet very incomplete
money
the
first
this
respect
for barter; the next step,
cash.
life
of
all
advanced com-
203
social effect
of modern
scientific
technique
is,
some
social unit.
The
primitive peasant may be almost entirely selfdirected ; he produces his own food, buys very little,
and does not send his children to school. The
In
reading
his
his
a great
become
demands
204
many
TECHNIQUE
IN
SOCIETY
nationalism
is
the
it is
capable in
welfare.
305
PART
III
CHAPTER
XII
society
technique in production,
in education, and in propaganda. But in addition
to this, it has a characteristic which distinguishes
it
from the
scientific
societies
up by natural
tific
it
is,
societies that
all
such
209
As we approach modern
times,
the
changes
are concerned.
French
societies
Revolution
created
deliberately
the
certain
of the
revolutionaries.
But
scientific
produce
intimate changes
it is
now
first
taught us
teaching us by
Men-
characteristics,
even
if their
may
easily
another. But
do not think
down
it is
in one
open
to
way
or
doubt that
is
not
itself idealistic,
since
it
is
power even
if
deliberate intention.
The
Japan
achievements in
all history,
in spite of the
national independence. China had been found impotent to resist the Western Powers, and Japan appeared
Certain Japanese statesmen perceived that the military and naval power of the
to
be in
like case.
had grown up
in the
The
reformers, therefore, skilfully enlisted the divine person of the Mikado and the divine
self-interest.
States. Shinto, as
is
so different
New
Religion,
213
an
intellectual
force
is
sceptical
and somewhat
it
the size
and
intensity of organizations,
more
particularly greatly
selves
and have
of super-
stitions in
scientists
some
been
acquiesce in
governmental doctrines, because most of them are
citizens first, and servants of truth only in the
exceptions,
willing
to
second place.
The Nazi
urban population, attributable to the sudden change of habits, and producing a tendency to hysteria. In both countries,
strain, particularly in the
214
it
legislator
would
desire to secure
by means of a
scientific construction.
much
The experiment
in progress,
evil
point out
which make
of a
is still
it
so far the
scientific society.
it
literature
gradually weakened ; in the sixth place, the Government, so far as war and external policy permit, is
ment.
extent,
It
is
everyone knew
was temporary, and even at its height
centrally
that this
but
organized,
expect
the
nation's activities
to
is
be abandoned readily.
The Russian experiment
fail,
but even
which
may
if it fails, it will
succeed or
may
be followed by others
i.e.
as
against dis-
difficult
unless
it
bombs
obtains
the
energy and intelligence, if they once become possessed of the governmental machine, to retain power
even though at first they may have to face the
opposition of the majority of the population.
We
must therefore increasingly expect to see government falling into the hands of oligarchies, not of
birth but of opinion. In countries long accustomed
democracy, the empire of these oligarchies may
be concealed behind democratic forms, as was that
of Augustus in Rome, but elsewhere their rule will
to
conflicts
may
217
and elaborate
as that
now
existing
in the U.S.S.R.
Such a
imbued with
tific
scientific
it
necessary to the prosperity not only of some countries, but of all. The international organization of
much more
than the
total
The
The advantages of
scientific
technique.
This
argument
is
life
less
in
satisfactory
life
at the
develop
it
it
is
abandons
scientific
technique,
and it will not do this except as the result of a
cataclysm so severe as to lower the whole level of
civilization.
The advantages
first
to
now devoted
to
and
will
therefore
not be resisted.
The
central
of the
figure-heads,
organization of government.
ment will, of course, forbid
not
The
the
essential
central
governthe propaganda of
nationalism,
is
It follows that
such
Relationships,
219
if it
can
subsist for
a generation,
The
be
will
stable.
no uncertainty as to
employment, no poverty, no sudden alternations
of good and bad times; every man willing to work
will be kept in comfort, and every man unwilling
in
to
competitive production,
work
will
be kept in prison.
circumstances the
hitherto been
will
Almost
all
that
is
tragic in
will
human
life
seldom come
Whether men
will
be happy in
this
Paradise I do
of
life;
will
other-
from
politics;
be replaced by
in which death will be the
perhaps football
will
320
it
in a trivial cause: to
fall
through the
may come
be
to
able diet
impulses,
Sunday school.
There will, of course, be a universal language,
which will be either Esperanto or pidgin-English.
The
most part
Othello,
glorify private
to study
them on the
murder; boys
will
make
life
virtuous.
is
not within
822
human
CHAPTER
XIII
division
between
its
practice. In politics
political ideas
it
and
economic
its
are
outlook
is
essentially
so
industrial
much dominated by
creeds,
but their
the class
war
that
man may
Such a
world, leaves
freedom. As society
In time of war
this
is
obvious to
Hitherto
it
government which,
curtail
while
much
do when they
it is
are at war.
224
like that
at
as
The diminution of
On
man. If we are
to
justify
example that occurs to me is as regards the investment of capital. At present, within wide limits, any
man who
has
money
to invest
may
invest
it
as
he
it
225
manner advantageous
to the public.
illustration: consider the
To
money
in a
more
immense sums
take a
important
of money that are spent on advertising. It cannot
possibly be maintained that these bring any but the
is
In England
individualism leads most families to prefer a small
house of their own rather than an apartment in a
as housing.
communal
who
The
at present
children
that
is
their
well-informed
2*7
know
that the
And
to the
as regards technical
interest that
methods,
an antiquated
owing
is
known. At
capitalist system, the interest of the individual wageearner is very often opposed to the interest of the
community,
since economical
by preserving an
inefficient technique. It
is
come now to a matter which touches the indiI mean the question of
vidual more intimately
I
propagation.
any
It
h?
may
scientific society
decree. This
of the future
is
is
beyond
this
them
if necessary, as
soon as
it
is
losing
military superiority through a lower birth-rate than
that of a rival, it may attempt, as has already been
done in such
but when
cases, to stimulate
its
own
birth-rate
An
international
United
229
in
become a matter
States
many
of America
it
is
is
likely
Already
permissible to
a similar pro-
sterilize
we may
such behaviour.
In suggesting any curtailment of liberty there are
always two quite distinct questions to be considered.
The
exist, since
we must
we
are considering
what
might be theoretically
hesitate to
draw
the conclusion
with liberty for which there is a theoretical justification will, in time, be carried out in practice, because
scientific
so
technique
strong
that
The
is
be that governments
will be able to interfere with individual liberty
wherever in their opinion there is a sound reason
for so doing, and for the reason just given, this
opinion.
will
this
be
much more
often than
is
it
likely to lead to
may
in
time prove
disastrous.
officials
inspiring
and
much
reality as in a
ordinary
experts
man
must
command
incalculable
misery
is
except
in
being
caused by a wrong handling of the question of
currency and credit, but it is impossible to submit
this
respect,
question
to
the
electorate
is
some
way
to convince
in
the
officials
as
tradition, the
community cannot
no private
trucks,
there
either to
ment
officials.
The
scientific
more analogous
Catholic
Church.
And
to the
this
government of the
governing
class,
as it
and
will learn
causing
this interference to
but
it
its
is
not
men
capable of such
to positions of power
slaves, for
self-restraint
will
which, except
rise
only by those
doubt. What sort of a world will such a governing,
class produce? In the following chapters I shall
hazard a guess
at
CHAPTER XIV
SCIENTIFIC
WHEN
speak of
GOVERNMENT
government I ought,
perhaps, to explain what I mean by the term. I do
not mean simply a government composed of men of
science. There were many men of science in the
scientific
proportion as
it
less
degree
can produce
results
itjs.
Constitution, for
for
the
the
first
fell
Presidency.
world war
of
it.
Owing
to the increase of
knowledge,
it is
possible
235
even
now
present
moment
known methods of
is
to say,
if
wisely organized,
would suffice to produce enough goods to keep the
whole population of the globe in tolerable comfort.
But although
production,
not yet
is
more
except in the form of sterilization of the feebleminded, is not yet practical politics, but may become so within the next fifty years. As we have
already seen,
it
more advanced, by
upon the foetus.
is
direct
methods of operating
become
is
man who
cares
SCIENTIFIC GOVERNMENT
only for personal power, but the idealist lives in an
intermediate position between these two extremes.
butthe^jjianijDu^^
it, wr^ile^hejrjsajjie^
_fkJitasy. It is the manipulative type of
idealist who will create the scientific society. Of such
create
our
in
men,
own
day, Lenin
is
the archetype.
The
society.
or
Archbishop of Canterbury in
succession to Laud. It was essential to his happiness
that England should be a certain sort of country,
not merely that he should be prominent in it. It is
to
Strafford,
^^L. ^^.
'
__
'
where.
sort
I fully
will
have a predominant
part
men
to
of this
play in
237
The
attitude of
idealists
among men of
practical
day
Among
current in
tific
now
lost
Germany by
research work
Under
the conditions of
general, as well as
applied science for
Under
the influence
modern
civilization the
community in
industry, is dependent upon pure and
its continued progress and prosperity.
of modern scientific discoveries and their
which require
scientific
knowledge
238
same
forces have,
however,
SCIENTIFIC GOVERNMENT
enlarged the bounds within which mistaken policies can exert
their ill-effects. Recent historical research has demonstrated
that the difficult racial problems confronting the Union of South
Africa to-day are the result of mistaken policies determined by
political prejudicies three generations ago. In the modern
world the dangers arising from mistakes caused by prejudice
and neglect of impartial or scientific inquiry are infinitely more
serious. In an age when nearly all the problems of administration and development involve scientific factors, civilization
cannot afford to leave administrative control in the hands of
those who have no first-hand knowledge of science.
.
Under modern
scientific
manship are
virtually impossible.
The
of leadership.
in
These examples
sufficiently
now
"The Screening
of Southend from
5 *
Gunfire
bilities
own
It will
men
of science
feeling
--
it
- --
world and
wishes
into practice
hiTdrcam
*" 1S *
-- to translate
-~----C.^.
r.*
^^
finds himselfJaced with many obstacles. There^
the opposition of inertia 3"^ haKi'f
wish to
people
.coutinue behaving as they always
-
""
240
~~always
"*" "~~~~
"* >
have_Hved. There
^
is
~"
the
'
SCIENTIFIC GOVERNMEN T
is
in certain
man
for
the sake of
some
ulterior
good to the
new
growing in connection with scientific technique will
have its eye upon society rather than upon the
individual. It will have little use for the superstition
of guilt and punishment, but will be prepared to
make
it
will
be
ruthless,
We
view a
human body
as
first
is
wicked.
We
consider
241
welfare.
much
This
has
always
been the
practice in war, because war is a collective enterprise. Soldiers are exposed to the risk of death for the
the
sacrifices
which were
be unjust. I think it
idealists of the future will
felt to
about?
how
is
all this to
come
my own
242
SCIENTIFIC GOVERNMENT
does not end in a draw,
will give world supremacy to either Russia or the
United States. In this way a world government
will
come about,
it
in
in
supreme
control will have to delegate much of their power
to experts of various types. It may be assumed that
in time the supreme rulers, having become soft,
will grow lazy. Like the Merovingian Kings, they
will allow their powers to be usurped by the less
lordly experts, and gradually these experts will
come to form the real government of the world.
I imagine them forming a close corporation, regulated partly
by opinion
so long as their
government
is challenged,
but chosen later on by means of
examinations, intelligence-tests, and tests of willpower.
am
The
ima^im'nff will
society aCexpertS-wfcich I
embrace all eminent men of science Except a few
"""^
sole up-to-dgtfi
the
"*"*
^B^"^*""*"*"^^^""^^^^^^^
<
repository of
new
all
secrets
jt will possess
^**^
gn^
in^
will
be ^W^M
the
the_art
TKere
will, therefore,
<^Cj^^^a~^-*
'
"
**"
""
'
"0~"'
"* "'
l|[t j-
M.
UM
\.
population,
co1imnan3~tO
"its
own members.
It
is
tjxc
ol
possible that
may
are
that
they
cometo be
view.
of these
is
war.
It
happens
that recent innovations in the art of war have
increased the power of the attack much more than
the power of defence, and there seems no likelihood
that the arts of defence will be able to recover lost
ground before the next great war. If that is
Dnly hope for the survival of civilization
;ome one nation
will
be
sufficiently
so,
is
the
that
remote from
is
almost certain
GOVERNMENT
SCIENTIFIC
to
produce in Europe,
it is
likely to
be
many
cen-
Even
America survives
be necessary
to set about at once organizing the world government, since civilization could not be expected to
survive the shock of yet another world war. In such
if
intact,
it
will
of the old world. Should they be content with investments in their own continent, the outlook would be
black indeed.
Another reason
for
scientific civilization
of the birth-rate.
is
The most
most
an increasing tendency
to leave the
rough work
to
men
Haiti.
In such circumstances
on our
it
would be
left
to
scientific civilization,
H5
civilization
scientific if
it
is
will
to escape destruction.
Whether
will
become more
it is
impossible to foresee.
have seen that scientific civilization
scientific
We
world-wide organization
it
if it is to
be
stable.
demands
We have
in the
exports by
this
isolation.
is,
expense of
human
can
at present.
In a world scientificaUy^or^aniz^c^
it
SCIENTIFIC GOVERNMENT
There would be one place
government that we
Cj3ms_JntoJbcing, one ^f its first
the__vvorjd
When,if
ever,
hatye considered
tasks will be the
is
left
to the chaotic
im-
that there
tV
QJjanused plenty.
The industrial plant at present existing in the world
is in many directions far in excess of the world's
is
poverty in
"lidfit
The
is
a matter which in
any
scientific society
of some_^stronger nation.
independence because it
The Transvaal
Jo&t^jjs
containedgold. Jiaw
materiats^ought not to Tjetohg t(T those who, by
conquest or diplomacy, have happened to acquire
who had
thoseT
the most
our
Moreover,
in
skill
utihzingTTiem.
ccvfi8Tmc~ system causes
present
everybody to^^Be wasteluT of raw~~irrate1fials, sTnce'
thereTls
no motive
for foresight.
In a
scientific
world
or any other
raw materials
an
earlier chapter,
We
artificial
less
importance in the
it
wool and
rubber. In time
artificial
timber and
we may have
the
and Canadian
artificial
artificial
food.
But
become more
in its methods and
who practise it. American
meantime agriculture
and more industrialized, both
in
considered in
future than
past.
may have
we
agriculturists
will
mentality,
soil
will yield
artificial
many
methods
crops
every
year.
248
GOVERNMENT
SCIENTIFIC
Of
f_lfe
will
be subject jtojiuman
control
be assumed
may
-"^
*J
It
v
will
that every
'""*
4^
man and~--^
woman
"^^_.
amiw
""T'"T
work
^^""^T"
of
course^,
will
Ml
llll
-~~-, |a
|t
entirely inferior
-^^~
work
On
^^_^p*>*.
^nere^ilTnotJa^as
atj)resent, fluctuatiojis of
and
which at
anarchic
economic
noDG3vjiiH>Sur!erlKe
^^^"^
^^^^^**
*"^*^
^^**^
"
|J
life
highly
experts.
n
cept for the most
than
fchejr^ajnmvc
they will th
250
sceknunmor
it,
bu^I arn_n^.uftrsuwhSicr
thaheywili
CHAPTER XV
EDUCATION IN A SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY
EDUCATION has two purposes: on the one hand to
form the mind, on the other hand to train the
citizen. The Athenians concentrated on the former,
the Spartans on the latter. The Spartans won, but
the Athenians were remembered.
Education in a scientific society may, I think, be
best conceived after the analogy of the education
who were
In
Jesus.
to
like
scientific
rulers
will
holders
of
scientific
power.
left to
the caprices of
25*
open
than
air,
and
will
the temperament
so formed, docility will be imposed by the methods
of the drill-sergeant, or perhaps by the softer methods
is
absolutely necessary.
Upon
doing.
Initiative
will
Formal
EDUCATION
IN A
SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY
intelli-
and
From
infancy up to
twenty-one, scientific knowledge will be poured into
him, and at any rate from the age of twelve upwards
ignorant
unscientific.
to
be bold in
all
physical adventures
and uncom-
A sense
to
him
to question
it.
Every youth
will
thus be
25$
If he should
fail
in
and
in
in
command
intelligence,
over others.
three,
he
will
of his
life
to associate with
and
to keep the manual workers contented by means
of continual new amusements. As those upon whom
all progress depends, they must not be unduly tame,
their business to
improve
scientific technique,
will,
is
as valuable as
EDUCATION
IN A
SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY
spirit,
heard.
service especially to
it
not
The
latest stage
They
will,
be concealed from
all
men
ment of research
will
view of fundamentals,
young men,
any
if
fundamental
innovation
they are
and
if
rashly pub-
Young men
occurs
made by
to
will
whom
make
The atmosphere
intellectually
for
unimportant but
and discovery
authority.
As for the
will
politically sacroscant.
will
be discourbe made as
they will
comfortable as possible, and their hours of work
will be much shorter than they are at present ; they
:
will
EDUCATION
IN A
SCIENTIFIC SOCIETY
when
and
previous associates, the rulers will reluctantly conclude that there is nothing to be done with him
except to send
him
to the lethal
ill-disciplined intelligence
revolt.
I
will
children born of
at
many
children would be
moved from
either class
is
others. In this
way
two
may become
classes
continu-
233
CHAPTER XVI
SCIENTIFIC
SCIENCE,
when
it
REPRODUCTION
social organization,
upon
religion
and
We
instinct.
is
may,
I think,
assume that
intercourse
apart
from children
will
be
They
will
we were
If
be performed,
we may assume
will
it
human
beings
who
are
any truly
scientific
form,
individualistic
is
likely
is
ble
and are
#60
at the
as to satisfy
men's
SCIENTIFIC REPRODUCTION
moral idealism, the love of power
swallowing up the instinctive
an outlet
life
is
capable of
of the affections,
permitted to purely
physical sexual impulses. Traditional religion, which
has been violently dispossessed in Russia, will suffer
especially
if
is
and
scientific
whereas
forces,
scientific
who
of those
form of Protestant
Communism.
that there
tion. If the
quality
is
is
but
no way
will in
and
it
will
be thought
it
is
pelvis. It
is
SCIENTIFIC REPRODUCTION
gestation will be shortened, and the later months of
foetal development will take place in an incubator.
their
children,
and would
thus
make
own
characteristics
own
their
children.
Among
rate care
the workers
it is
probable that
it is
less
easier to
elabo-
breed
for
own
children in
the old-fashioned
natural
of the
private
affections.
all
Among
the
private sentiments
if
book on education.
The tendency of
the scientific
manipulator
is
The Church
is
by John B. Watson,
p. 83.
SCIENTIFIC REPRODUCTION
people in such a world?
I think, be fairly happy.
that the
will
and there
severe,
will
be endless amusements of a
trivial sort.
reverence for
governors instilled in
childhood and prolonged by the propaganda to
stitious
which adults
be exposed.
The psychology of the governors will be a more
difficult matter. They will be expected to display an
will
and
will
have
friends, unless in
and
if these
disciplinary measures
science
and the
State.
The governors
of course, have their amusements for leisure hours. I do not see how art or
will,
nor do
and
to
be
maintained.
They
will
SCIENTIFIC REPRODUCTION
no
recognized except insubordination and
inflicted as
punishment
sin will
be
failure
to
scientific
demanded
will
whelm
the
men in
meted out
tions
to the softer joys, since, like the persecuof the Inquisition, they will be found in
harmony with
Such
at least
is
injections
New
intoxication
that for
hours in
468