The impact of science on society / Bertrand Russell

By:

Russell, Bertrand, 1872-1970

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: London : Unwin Paperbacks, 1985. 2016.Description: 127 p. ; 20 cmISBN:

9780367239008

Subject(s):

Science -- Social aspects

DDC classification:

303.483 19 RUS

LOC classification:

Q175.5

Contents:

Foreword to the Routledge Classics edition. 1. Science and Tradition 2. General Effects of Scientific Technique 3. Scientific Technique in Oligarchy 4. Democracy and Scientific Technique 5. Science and War 6. Science and Values 7. Can a Scientific Society be Stable? Index

Summary: Many of the revolutionary effects of science and technology are obvious enough. Bertrand Russell saw in the 1950s that there are also many negative aspects of scientific innovation. Insightful and controversial in equal measure, Russell argues that science offers the world greater well-being than it has ever known, on the condition that prosperity is dispersed; power is diffused by means of a single, world government; birth rates do not become too high; and war is abolished. Russell acknowledges that is a tall order, but remains essentially optimistic. He imagines mankind in a 'race between human skill as to means and human folly as to ends', but believes human society will ultimately choose the path of reason. This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Preface by Tim Sluckin.

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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Status	Date due	Barcode
General Books	CUTN Central Library Social Sciences	Non-fiction	303.483 RUS (Browse shelf(Opens below))	Available		47411

" ... based upon lectures originally given at Ruskin College in Oxford ... [except for] the last chapter ... [which] was the Lloyd Roberts Lecture given at the Royal Society of Medicine, London, on 29th November 1949." -Prefatory note

Originally published: London : Allen & Unwin, 1952

Previously published in Unwin paperbacks in 1976

Many of the revolutionary effects of science and technology are obvious enough. Bertrand Russell saw in the 1950s that there are also many negative aspects of scientific innovation. Insightful and controversial in equal measure, Russell argues that science offers the world greater well-being than it has ever known, on the condition that prosperity is dispersed; power is diffused by means of a single, world government; birth rates do not become too high; and war is abolished. Russell acknowledges that is a tall order, but remains essentially optimistic. He imagines mankind in a 'race between human skill as to means and human folly as to ends', but believes human society will ultimately choose the path of reason.

This Routledge Classics edition includes a new Preface by Tim Sluckin.

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