Science and the Modern World

During the period September 1963 to December 1964. Georgetown University commemorated the 175th anniversary of its founding by presenting a series of special lectures in the various disciplines appropriate to a university. Among the subjects covered. in separate and coherent series. were the humanities. the arts. medicine. law. and religion. One of the series. entitled as a group. "Science and Society." is represented by this book. The ten papers presented here must be looked at in context: an effort was made to present to a largely lay audi­ ence a cross section of those aspects of recent advances in science and technology that were considered to haye the most striking or inclusive effects on man''s view of his world. on desirable public policy. and on man''s antici­ pations as to how further advances and applications of these advances were likely to change his environment. Clearly. so ambitious an undertaking could not be carried out within the compass of ten brief lectures. Within a general structure. it was necessary to use a sampling technique. The general plan was adopted of having three lectures representative of the philosophical sector. three of the public policy structure. and three which would partake of the nature of extrapolations into v vi INTRODUCTION the future. A tenth lecture was later added which could be considered to fit equally well into the second or third of these categories.