Science and Culture

                               Science and Culture

This is an era of science. There is hardly any domain where science and technology do not play an important part. Whether it is on the food front or defence, in the matter of clothing or comfort, in the enjoyment of leisure or pastime, modern science and technology contribute to make man’s life more effective, fast and pleasant. Science has also entered into the world of art.

Science has been defined as a body of systematized knowledge as an object of study. It covers generally truths or the operation or general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific methods. Culture is the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties, especially by education. It brings enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by ascetic training. Culture, when applied to society, implies the behavior typical or a group of class.

Modern science was born as a reaction against the dogmatism of the middle ages. It first invented the scientific methods of research. Then, it applied these methods to the phenomena o nature. Consequently science achieved wonderful results; the railway train, the telephone, the telegraph, the motor car, the cinema, the radio and the aeroplane, etc.,are the great achievements of modern science. Most of them were very useful as they were introduced into use. The scientists were greatly elated by these. Naturally, they thought that the knowledge of science was far superior to the knowledge of religion and morality. In their enthusiasm they forgot morality altogether. As a matter of fact, they defined the scientific temper in such terms as rendered the morality irrelevant. They maintained that the business of the scientist is to deal with only what is and what can be and not what “ought to be”. Thus, it was very natural that they should go on with the experiments in the name of truth without thinking of the consequence of their work.

However, science and technology stand for rationalization of man’s activities. Progress in science and technology is based on essential unalterable facts. Sentiments alone has no place in the scientific thinking. Even institution, which plays a great role in the formulation of scientific theory, is not easily accepted unless it can proved and justified in some way or the other. Scientific work demands a certain rigour in thinking, a respect for objectivity in the evaluation of facts. It trains the mind to make a clear, dispassionate and objective assessment of events and situations.

Thus, the scientific age has ushered in a number of new values and invincible optimism in attacking human problems, a rationalization of effort so as to obtain maximum efficiency, sense of sharing in the common tasks of mankind, in relieving human want and suffering and feeling of the brotherhood of man. These are all values that have become a part of traditions of an industrialized society and can, therefore, be called elements of true culture.

Science and Culture

The irony of the present situation is that the protagonists of the two cultures- literary culture and scientific culture- have ceased to speak to each other in any effective way. Literary men like to pretend that the traditional culture is the whole of culture, as though the exploration of the natural order and science were of no interest either in their own values or in its consequences. They think as if scientific edifice of physical world in its intellectual depth, complexity and articulation, is the most beautiful and wonderful collective work of the mind in the man. On the other hand, many scientists have no use for the whole literature of traditional culture. It seems to them totally irrelevant to the real needs of man.

  The United Nations has established as one of its important wings called the UNESCO realizing the important role that science plays in the field of education and culture. Gone are the days when culture and refinement were monopoly of the few, privileged with money and power, luxury and leisure. Culture is now the property of masses all over the world and this boon has become possible only with the aid of science. Science has diversified and decentralized culture and made it the common media of international understanding.