Daedalus; or, Science and the Future

Daedalus; or, Science and the Future

Daedalus; or, Science and the Future is a book by the British scientist J. B. S. Haldane, published in England in 1924. It was the text of a lecture [1] read to the Heretics Society, an intellectual club at Cambridge University on 4 February 1923.

Haldane uses the Greek myth of Daedalus as a symbol for the revolutionary nature of science with particular regard to his own discipline of biology.

"The chemical or physical inventor is always a Prometheus. There is no great invention, from fire to flying, which has not been hailed as an insult to some god. But if every physical and chemical invention is a blasphemy, every biological invention is a perversion. There is hardly one which, on first being brought to the notice of an observer from any nation which had not previously heard of their existence, would not appear to him as indecent and unnatural."

He also expressed skepticism over the human benefits of some scientific advances, arguing that scientific advance would bring grief, rather than progress to mankind, unless it was accompanied by a similar advance in ethics.

The book is an early vision of transhumanism [2] and his vision of a future in which humans controlled their own evolution through directed mutation and use of in vitro fertilization ("ectogenesis") was a major influence on Aldus Huxley's Brave New World. The book ends with the image of a biologist, much like Haldane himself, in a laboratory: "just a poor little scrubby underpaid man groping blindly amid the mazes of the ultramicroscop...conscious of his ghastly mission and proud of it."

The book has been discussed at length by other writers, including Freeman Dyson in his book "Imagined Worlds", "Science, Society, and Values" by Sal. P. Restivo [3] and the conceit has been used in contemporary science lectures [4].

See also

References

External links

Daedalus; or Science and the Future (online version of the text)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Science — This article is about the general term, particularly as it refers to experimental sciences. For the specific topics of study by scientists, see Natural science. For other uses, see Science (disambiguation) …   Wikipedia

  • Daedalus — constructs wings for his son, Icarus, after a Roman relief in the Villa Albani, Rome (Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1888). This article is about the mythological character. For other uses see Daedalus (disambiguation). In Greek mythology, Daedalus …   Wikipedia

  • The Underland Chronicles — Merge|Gregor and the Code of Claw|Talk:The Underland Chronicles#Proposed merge|date=January 2008 The Underland Chronicles is a five part series of children’s books written by Suzanne Collins between 2003 and 2007. It tells the story of an eleven… …   Wikipedia

  • The Book of the New Sun — infobox Book | name = The Book of the New Sun title orig = translator = author = Gene Wolfe cover artist = country = United States language = English series = The Book of the New Sun genre = Science fiction publisher = Orb Books release date =… …   Wikipedia

  • Future of newspapers — Newspapers: a global industry in transition The future of newspapers has been widely debated as the industry has faced down soaring newsprint prices, slumping ad sales, the loss of much classified advertising and precipitous drops in circulation …   Wikipedia

  • The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — This article is about the book. For the historical event, see Decline of the Roman Empire. For publication details and chapter listings, see Outline of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. The History of the Decline and Fall… …   Wikipedia

  • Daedalus (crater) — The lunar farside crater Daedalus. NASA photo. Coordinates …   Wikipedia

  • Stars and planetary systems in fiction — The planetary systems of stars other than the Sun and the Solar System are a staple element in much science fiction. Contents 1 Overview 1.1 The brightest stars …   Wikipedia

  • History of science fiction — The literary genre of science fiction is diverse and since there is little consensus of definition among scholars or devotees, its origin is an open question. Some offer works like the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh as the primal texts of science… …   Wikipedia

  • Traditions and student activities at MIT — The traditions and student activities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology encompass hundreds of student activities, organizations, and athletics that contribute to MIT s distinct culture. Contents 1 Traditions 1.1 Brass Rat 1.2 Tim the… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”