Forward with Science

Abstract

THE impact of science upon society has, as all J. readers of NATURE will know, already been the subject of much discussion. On one hand there is the optimistic school of thought which prophesies that, if only we employ sufficient men of science and technologists and give them the position of authority in the State to which their indubitable talents entitle them, we shall find ourselves entering into an age of plenty. On the other hand there is a growing, though less vocal, apprehension that for all these good things there may be a price to be paid, and that vigilance will have to be exercised to ensure that moral and spiritual values which are vital to the welfare of mankind are not submerged in the rising tide. The possibilities and the dangers are obviously far more than national in scope, and it was not without interest that one approached this treatment of the theme from across the Atlantic.

Forward with Science

By Prof. Rogers D. Rusk. Pp. xiv + 308 + v + 24 plates. (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1943). 3.50 dollars.