SCIENCE IN WAR AND PEACE HOUGH no ordinary meeting of
the British Associa- tion could be held this year, or perhaps in any year Bing a world-war, the conference which was held last riday, Saturday and Sunday had a unique contribution o make in assessing the role of science in the modern world. The mere fact that such a meeting could be held at all was of symbolic interest. Would Nazi Germany or any totalitarian State allow an independent organisation such as the British Association to summon on its own Initiative persons from many countries to discuss with freedom the contribution which scientists might make to the creation of a new world order? There are able scientists in Germany, as there are in Britain, who are giving essential services to their Government in all the war departments. They, too, as scientists, are bound by the necessities of truth, since they cannot alter the laws of mechanics or make a magnetic mine by cheating or propaganda. They are only able to serve their Govern- ment because they inherit traditions which could never have grown in a world governed by Nazi principles, or without the " liberty to learn and opportunity to teach " required in the charter adopted by the British Association. Nazi-ism makes use of science, but in the long run condemns it to death.
But the very fact that Germany is able to make such appalling use of her scientists reminds us that though science can only be developed in an atmosphere of free- dom and presupposes at its start the inquiring mind which refuses to be bound by conventional doctrine or dogma, none the less it is not in itself a necessarily moral force, and its results can be used alike for good or for evil. Science is concerned with processes of observation and experiment and the discovery of laws under which nature operates ; and, in its applications, with the making of subtle instruments through which knowledge is turned to use. Though it cannot deviate by a hair's breadth from scientific truth, none the less it is, in its pure form, indifferent to consequences. Roger Bacon is credited with the discovery of gunpowder. The steam- engine led indirectly not only to mass production but to the slums. The internal combustion engine made possible the tank and the bomber. In general, the application of science to industry has in the relatively short period of two centuries completely transformed the world, speeding up travel, transport and communications, so that distances have shrunk, the fates of countries are interwoven, the old political associations of peoples in nations are too small to work in isolation, and the problems of the distribution of goods and the control of economic competition have outrun the capacity of the old political organisations to cope with them. Science has set going forces which, while affording higher control of nature, have none the less made the world almost unmanageable, and have led to more disastrous rivalries and more cruel wars than any- thing before known in history. Yet the scientist, unruffled, pursues his inquiries, giving us poisons and cures, bombs and hospitals, slums and sanitation. What does the average man, reviewing his record, say when the scientist comes forward today as the organiser of a new order and a saner world?
It is by no means certain that all intelligent men, weighing the good against the ill that has resulted from modem science, would agree that the balance is on the side of the good. But what is certain is that at this stage of the' world's history nothing but more science can enable us to use the vantage ground that science has given us, and abolish the evils arising from the vicious or haphazard use of the forces it has released. Knowledge must be further increased and be more and more at the disposal of the ruler if he is to cope with the infinite intricacies of a disordered world. And yet scientists themselves are the first to realise that the very growth of their own knowledge has created a new difficulty. So vast is the field of enquiry and so highly specialised is the task of each inquirer that it is impossible for the specialist in one branch to keep abreast of achievements in others. The world of knowledge is becoming so departmentalised that it is increasingly difficult for any one person to see the wood for the trees. Scientists are talking of planning a new world order ; but it is clear that the first part of their task is to plan science itself, to organise its various departments so that there may be free access from each to all and effective co-operation.
Putting aside the need of co-ordinating knowledge in the more abstruse fields of pure scientific inquiry, it is enough to consider now the utilitarian aspects of science which, after all, were the main theme of the recent con- ference. It is agreed that the modern ruler cannot hope to make a success of the job of directing a modern nation unless he makes the fullest use of available knowledge. He will need a "Brains Trust " to guide him. No wonder that the ideal ruler of today is difficult to come by, for evidently he must be one who combines all the talents for persuading and leading the populace with ability to make disinterested use of the unbounded knowledge theoretically at his disposal. Take the proposal so admir- ably advocated by Sir John Orr and supported by other members of the conference ; he urged the adoption of a planned food policy which would bring within the reach of every person a diet completely adequate for health. All the knowledge for the adoption of such a plan is in existence. Nothing remains but to apply it—on a world scale. But many experts are needed—the economist who has extricated himself from the narrower interpretations of the laws of supply and demand, the expert in currencies, the expert in transport, the expert in agri- culture, the dietician and many others. The pooled know- ledge of all of these is necessary, and the use of one must be dovetailed in with the use of another. This is not for a moment to say that Sir John's proposal is impracticable. On the contrary, his scheme is perfectly possible. This example is chosen merely to show that the existence of the necessary knowledge is not in itself enough ; there must also be artistry in combining its various elements, with power to co-ordinate and construct, the reformer's zeal intent on overcoming obstacles.
We have before us now the ideal of a planned world without which there can be no escape from the chaos of competing societies which breeds war. M. Maisky begged his audience to recognise that the only road to salvation is large-scale planning in international affairs, and he offered the experience of the Soviet Union as something to be studied without, of course, attempting to prejudice the inquiry in favour of Communism. Nothing less than planning on a world-scale is what most members of the conference had in mind. There can be no such planning except on the basis of the widest knowledge established by science, and the co-ordination of that knowledge so that it becomes usable. Remembering that in the past the scientist has served alike the just and the unjust, we shall not look specially to him—except in one respect— for any rare moral purpose. But the exception is im- portant. Since as a scientist it is his sole purpose to relate causes and effects, to study nature with the object of elucidating the truth, or to apply its laws to some operational end, no speciousness, no partisanship, preju- dice, or impulse can enter into his proper inquiries. The scientific habit of mind, within its own sphere, is a
disinterested one, and tends to be a corrective to opportunism which often manifests itself in politi Therefore the spread of the scientific spirit in the sphe of government, urged by Lord Samuel, will be a health corrective, steadying to the mind that has to grasp bo the art and the science of rulership. In war and in th days of reconstruction which will follow there should no room for opportunism. We need the zeal of rule who, spurning quackery, will be passionately intent o applying - remedies which the best minds can discover.
Previous page
