Science and Society by H. Rose and S. Rose, Science and the Crisis in Society by F. H. George (review)

Books 359 these become co-extensive in the process of tacit knowing. Science and Society. H. Rose and S. Rose. Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, London, 1969. 293 pp. E2.50. Science and the Crisis in Society. F. H. George. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, Sussex, 1970. 170 pp. E1.75. Reviewed by: David Smith* The first book is a general historical analysis of the growth and interrelationships of scientific endeavour , technology and society. The first part is devoted to British society, whilst the latter part studies more briefly the situations in other countries and the character of international scientific activity. The growth of science and technology in Britain is traced from the days of the formation of the first scientific societies and of private patronage to the present scientific organizations with their complex governmental and non-governmental managerial structures. The authors show that science is not an inevitable form of human activity but is affected by cultural values and, therefore, can be controlled. However, this historical picture given of events in Britain over the last two centuries underlines the fact that science has not been controlled and all too often application of discoveries has led to the detriment rather than the benefit of that society. Nor is this problem confined to British society. The authors in a briefer surveydescribe the scientific policies of the U.S.A., the U.S.S.R., and countries in Western Europe and Asia, where in many cases parallel problems exist. International scientific bodies of both governmental and non-governmental nature are also described,e.g. Unesco and theInternational Council of Scientific Unions. The flow of manpower and ideas between countries and the resulting problems of technologicalgaps and brain drains are envisaged as being reduced in magnitude by the internationalization of science. A theoretical discussion concerning the criteria for choice of a particular line of research is followed by an examination of the complex decision-making process that occurred in practice with operation Megamouse (the establishment of an international research centre in Edinburgh) and CERN (the 300 GeV accelerator) in Geneva. In creating an open accessible man-centred science, the authors suggest that ‘those concerned to allocate resources between disciplines and fields on the basic sciences must do so in the context of politicallydirected goals set by the community, whilst they themselves must be openly elected by the scientific community from amongst its own number’. This is an excellent book for anyone who wants to understand the interrelation of science and society. It is well set out, with an abundant supply of references. After having read the book, I cannot help feeling that, even with an idea of how science * 16A Station Street, Pymble, 2073 New South Wales, Australia. should be managed, the problems are too complexto be solved. The authors’ suggestion that administrators should be selected from the scientific community immediately invokes the question : how many professional scientists want to become administrators ? The second book is written for the layman. It attempts to give the reader an idea of what science isandhow it isemployedby man. Oneisencouraged to feel optimistic that science, in particular cybernetics , will provide answers to some of the critical problems facing man today. I find the book poorly written and the subject matter treated in too loose a way. The presentation is hardly what one would expect from a book that preaches a scientific outlook. There are no referencesindicated in the text, so that the reader cannot pursue topics further. At times, the book takes on the air of a political speech: ‘We are going to succeed, we must succeed but precisely because we are so determined. ...’ One often finds statements of little use, such as the following: ‘Abusiness must be flexible,dynamic and able to grow and learn in order to survive.’ Art is defined by the author as ‘a by-product of the emotions and reason’. One can object to this statement both because it degrades art and it is meaningless . He writes:‘Happiness is something to do with the ratio of ambition to achievement,as well asone’s psychological state.’ Is it as simple as this? Can it be measured ? Another annoying feature of the book is the frequent...