Science in human affairs

It is remarkable that the subject of the social relations of science did not find itself on the agenda of The Academy until its meeting in the spring of 1966. Whatever may explain the absence of the subject from the discussions of The Academy during the past fifty years, it is safe to say that during the next fifty years it is bound to be a recurring topic on the agenda of The Academy. But it is equally safe to say that our understanding of the problem by no means matches our perception of its importance. Tributes to the importance of science come easily, but the implications of this for traditional modes of education, for traditional modes of assuring democratic control of governmental processes, for traditional notions of the proper sphere of activity of government, business, and university are but dimly seen. The audience that listened to these papers was aware-as the reader of these pages soon will be-that genuine consensus on these matters is as elusive as it is in the world of politics.