Atomic Bomb to Japan
Essay by people • April 26, 2011 • Essay • 639 Words (3 Pages) • 2,269 Views
The essay What is Science? makes us wonder what Orwell's purpose of writing such essay. This essay described about problems that society had because of misunderstanding of the meaning of "science." All the influences come from a writer's environment. Looking back at Orwell's time, He published the essay two months later after United States shot atomic bomb to Japan. Due to this disaster, he was against all mankind but especially scientists. Orwell believed that scientists were indifferent to social life; he wanted scientists to actualize the ideal world of what people wants, scientists should have education with "rational, skeptical, experimental habits of mind" that can have a discussion with non-scientists. Orwell mainly pointed out that scientists should include other people in problem solving of making a world a better place.
First, people had a false thought that scientists were the only ones to make the world develop. So people pushed scientists into a state where they are ones to make the world a better place and solve all problems. However, this prejudice was nonsense because scientists had narrow view that showed only the development of scientific facts. Orwell demonstrated few examples what had occurred when scientists were in another area. He mentioned German scientists who accepted developing and producing weapons for Nazis. Also, atomic bomb which exploded in Japan was created by American scientists. They were not in a field of science, but actual battles. This mass destruction did not only annihilate Japan at the instant, but also contaminated with radioactive matters that made complete mayhem. Both cases resulted in stopping the growth of culture and technology in the world because factors which could benefit the world were torn down together with the country. These disasters caused from scientists lacked humane and skeptical aspects. In addition, people did not realize the tragedies and kept scientists to control all subjects. Instead, Orwell focused on scientists to make them learn both facts and "humane and skeptical outlooks." To make people change, there must be enormous campaigns and alternate assumption that not only scientists, but others should also advocate political and social issues and these are what scientists should do.
However, scientists did not do any work to make others reform their mind with participating in political problems. They just sat on their labs and obtained only facts. They became people who were remote from world of non-scientists. One of the reasons that scientists turned out to be only studying and researching is mainly about competing with each other. Achieving more knowledge makes one have pride and others jealous. To compete with one another they should study infinitely because there is overflowing information about science. Doing only the learning part is too much work for scientists if they define science as only facts. Because of
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