INTRODUCTION
It is interesting to contemplate an entangled bank, clothed with many plants of many kinds, with birds singing on the bushes, with various insects flitting about, and with worms crawling through the damp earth, and to reflect that these elaborately constructed forms, so different from each other, and dependent on each other in so complex a manner, have all been produced by laws acting around us. These laws, taken in the largest sense, being Growth with Reproduction; Inheritance which is almost implied by reproduction; Variability from the indirect and direct action of the external conditions of life, and from use and disuse; a Ratio of Increase so high as to lead to a Struggle for Life, and as a consequence to Natural Selection, entailing Divergence of Character and the Extinction of less-improved forms. Thus, from the war of nature, from famine and death, the most exalted object which we are capable of conceiving, namely, the production of the higher animals, directly follows. There is grandeur in this view of life, with its several powers, having been originally breathed into new forms or into one; and that, whist this planet has gone cycling on according to the fixed law of gravity, from so simple a beginning endless forms most beautiful and most wonderful have been, and are being, evolved.1
The contents of this volume provide a wide introduction to ideas that continue to provide substantive points of discussion both within scientific fields and among the lay public. As Charles Darwin wrote above in his final paragraph from Origin of Species, his ideas and those contained within many of the works within this volume contain a grandeur or, at the least, a significance which in many instances continues to be part of the public discussion of science. These ideas range from the foundational, such as Darwin's natural selection, to the more philosophical and radical ideas put forth by Paul Feyerabend in Science in a Free Society. The readers of the selections included in this volume are encouraged to begin with the ideas here and to seek out and expand their investigations from the introductions provided within.
The first unit in the volume is science, with an emphasis on the biological sciences. It opens with Darwin's chapter on natural selection, where he elaborates upon the details of his proposed mechanism for descent with modification and, in his smooth and Victorian style, provides a long series of evidence and support for this idea. This is followed by the work of scientist Louis Agassiz, one of Darwin's main opponents within the United States, but who was noted for his work in the area of natural history. Best known for his extensive work on the effects of glaciers, Agassiz lectured extensively throughout the United States. Vannevar Bush provides insight into the nature of science in a public context, where he considers the rapidly expanding importance of science to national issues that held true when written at the end of World War II and which remain true today. Slipping back into the biological realm, Lewis Thomas provides an elegant view of the cellular basis of life, a principal concept of the biological sciences that grew to full strength during the 20thCentury. Finally, Feyerabend offers a counterpoint to the modern methods of science, arguing from a relativistic point of view, that modern science has become as dogmatic as religion, and in some ways could be considered a religion of its own.
The second unit of this volume, Technology,opens with the only true technical work of science included within this volume, the brief, but concise description by James Watson and Francis Crick on their proposed structure of the molecular composition of deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. It fronts a section of five works where the remaining excerpts are all from pieces of fiction. In the pursuit of technology, as well as the world of fiction, the door (or as some have said, Pandora's Box) opened by Watson and Crick has led to the continuing development of molecular science but has proved an equally fruitful realm for authors of science fiction. In this line of fiction, Aldous Huxley questions man's use of technology through his fictional future. Similar issues arise in the classic work of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. As science rapidly produces new technologies, it is imperative that we consider how these technologies will be used to the benefit of humankind and the planet we inhabit. Swift, in Gulliver's Travels, provides a sharp critique about the use and advances of science, that could be considered a cautionary tale, or one where the lay skeptics hold back the progress of science due to their lack of understanding of the methods of science. Technology closes with another iconic tale, that of Shelley's Frankenstein. This much popularized work that began as a ghost story has evolved into the story of man's misuse of science, to his own detriment.
The third unit focuses upon more recent works regarding issues of the environment. It leads off with two short sections from Leopold's A Sand County Almanac, a work of both scientific and poetic value. Leopold was among the earliest to consider the breadth of the environment and its importance to man. Not included in this volume but found in previous editions, but of equal and foundational importance are the words of Rachel Carson in Silent Spring. Her opening chapter entitled "A Fable for Tomorrow" paints a picture of the idyllic American landscape with rolling hills, orchards, birds, insects and the numerous and diverse forms of life that can be found in such an environment. This idyllic scene is spoiled by the sudden blight that erodes this environment, with Carson ending her opening statement with a brief but ominous set of words;
No witchcraft, no enemy action had silenced the rebirth of new life in this stricken world. The people had done it themselves.2
This self-imposed affliction of damage to the environment is reflected in the remaining four selections in the environment section. Hawken discusses the concept of sustainability in the corporate world, which places his ideas well ahead of business approaches that are only now beginning to be adapted for use in the business world. Daniel Quinn in Ishmael provides a fictional framework for examination of global issues and problems with the overtones of the nature of the society involved, those he characterizes as "Leavers" and "Takers." In Cadillac Desert, Marc Reisner explores the history of water use and apportionment across the American west, from its foundations in the 19th century, through the political manipulations of the early and mid 20th centuries, to a final glimmer of hope just beginning when his work was first published in 1986. This section concludes with a reprise of T. R. Malthus' The Principle of Population from the first edition. Issues of human overpopulation, food source production, and a concern that overpopulation could lead to serious shortages of foods for everyone are again issues in the forefront of contemporary conversations on the environment.
The final unit circles back around to issues that have been raised throughout the volume, with a focus on society. Bertrand Russell discusses the role and impact of science within society by looking back historically from his vantage of the 1950s. A briefer, but no less significant work is that of the ecologist William E. Odum in his Environmental Degradation and the Tyranny of Small Decisions. This piece could easily have been included within the environment section of the volume, but fits even better within the society segment. Even though he wrote on the importance of every individual's role in decision making and its effect on the environment, his comments readily transfer to how we examine the role of science in society. The well-known work of Garrett Hardin's The Tragedy of the Commonsreflects his ideas on societal use of resources, and of course science and technology are clearly important resources of any society. The economist E.F. Schumacher brings his unique merger of European and Asian concepts to bear on a wide range of subjects, including the use of land, the human impact of technology, nuclear power, and what he calls "Buddhist Economics." The final piece is by James F. Childress, a professor of ethics and religious studies. He reflects upon bioethics and the role of such biotechnology in current society.
The readings contained within this volume span a wide range of disciplines, but all have some bearing, either direct or indirect, upon the sciences. They should prove useful in areas such as the life and environmental sciences, but also to those in the humanities, the health sciences, business, and other areas of academic pursuit. This collection is but the most current of works upon which modern science is built. As current and future science produces new ideas, these works will be supplanted by new and no less significant ideas. John A. Moore in his outstanding work, Science as a Way of Knowing, clearly lays out the importance of an understanding of science, and in particular biology, to all persons:
Very difficult decisions will have to be made if we are to have a sustainable human society in a sustainable environment. Many of those decisions will require extensive knowledge of biology. We have reached the point in history, therefore, when biological knowledge is the sine qua non for a viable human future. Such knowledge will be especially necessary for the leaders of society - in government, industry, business, and education - but the tough decisions will have to be supported by an informed electorate. A critical subset of society will have to understand the nature of life, the interactions of living creatures with their environment, and the strengths and limitations of the data and procedures of science itself. The acquisition of biological knowledge, for so long a luxury except for those in agriculture and the health sciences, has now become a necessity for all.3
Those who continue to learn from the ever more rapid pace of scientific discovery will be the ones who provide the answers we need to ensure a future for ourselves and our planet.
Works Cited:
1 Darwin, Charles. (1859). The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection. London, Penguin Book Group. 459-460.
2Carson, Rachel. (1962). Silent Spring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 3
3Moore, John A. (1993). Science as a Way of Knowing. Cambridge, Mass.; Harvard University Press. 4
David O. Freier, Ph.D.