Role of the Scientist in Modern Society—a Symposium: Part I

ROLE OF THE SCIENTIST IN MODERN SOCIETYA SYMPOSIUM: PART I* DANIEL BOVET, D.Sc.f The significant contribution which scientists have made to our world has clearly established the importance of their position. Economically, politically, and militarily, our modern society depends more and more on the resources ofscientists, who have become more popular in the public eye. The present number of research workers in the world is close to two million (according to Oppenheimer, 90 per cent ofthe scientists who ever existed are still living). The proportion of national income spent for research is about 2.2 per cent in the United States, 1 per cent in France, and 0.6 per cent in Italy. From the Auger report it can be seen that the number of scientific journals has risen from about 100 at the beginning ofthe last century to about 1,000 in 1850, 10,000 in 1900, and 100,000 in i960. The astronomers have set the extreme limits of the universe at ten billion light years. The geologists tell us about the history ofthe earth, which started three billion years ago. The physicists describe the characteristics of elementary particles which last for a billionth of a second or less. The geneticists decipher the code ofthe 22 amino acids using a combination of only four nucleotides in 64 trinucleotides, and assume that this has a universal character—that is, that "the same code holds for all organisms from the smallest upwards." The electronic experts obtain about 100,000 elementary calculations per second from a modern computer. Repercussions in the economic field are equally astonishing The amount ofwork * Presented at the Georgetown University Symposium on Science and Society, October 28, 1964, and published in the Georgetown Medical Bulletin; reprinted by permission. f Address: Istituto Farmacologia, dell'Università di Sassari, Sassari, Italy. 533 needed in agriculture has been drastically reduced since the last century. For example, the time required to harvest an acre ofwheat amounted to one hour with a sickle in 1800; fifteen minutes with a scythe in 1850; two minutes with a binder in 1900; and in 1950, thirty-five seconds with a combine harvester which eliminates the threshing operation. I could easily go on piling up more figures, following many scientists who do not hesitate to spend some of their holidays writing about the wonders of science and scientific techniques. This preoccupation has created an atmosphere so widespread that flattering invitations are issued by famous university presidents soliciting research workers to discuss the role ofscientists in modern society. Such progress also has some paradoxical aspects. Consider, for example, that the new generation is not at all surprised by the possibility ofa landing on the moon but is astonished by the potential immortality ofan ameba. Consider the dangers of these fabulous developments with which philosophers have become preoccupied. Every dramatic acceleration of the events that are taking place in modern history is of general concern. Learned men fear for the future of our culture and for the dangers involved in a culture which has become too mechanized and technical, while students are nervously watching the increase in the number of their examinations . Ifthe optimists picture the future as an era when physical effort will be eliminated and men will have no more than eight working hours per week, or even per month, the pessimists, on the contrary, foresee the end ofour society caused by radioactive fallout and/or by overpopulation. All the theoretical and practical problems ofresearch development have been studied and discussed in national and international conferences. Plans and programs are being prepared and established. A cabinet officer for science, a new figure on the political scene, has been created to find the means by which these programs may be sponsored by the government in order to study the problems relating to the education and recruitment of research workers and to curb the brain drain. The research workers themselves affiliate within well defined fields and often form professional associations and international unions. Much has already been said about the importance of scientists in our present-day world. Any discussion concerning this subject leads to three major points: (1) outstanding technical successes; (2) inherent dangers ac534 Daniel...