Society for Freedom in Science
Encyclopedia
The Society for Freedom in Science was founded in 1940 by John Baker
and Michael Polanyi
to defend and promote a liberal conception of science as free enquiry against the instrumental view that science should exist primarily to serve the needs of society. The Society was formed to combat what they called Bernalism, which was a reference to the views of the physicist John Desmond Bernal as found in his 1939 book The Social Function of Science.
John Baker (biologist)
John Randal Baker FRS was a biologist, physical anthropologist, and professor at the University of Oxford in the mid-twentieth century. He is best remembered for his 1974 book, Race, which classifies human races in the same way in which animal subspecies are classified...
and Michael Polanyi
Michael Polanyi
Michael Polanyi, FRS was a Hungarian–British polymath, who made important theoretical contributions to physical chemistry, economics, and the theory of knowledge...
to defend and promote a liberal conception of science as free enquiry against the instrumental view that science should exist primarily to serve the needs of society. The Society was formed to combat what they called Bernalism, which was a reference to the views of the physicist John Desmond Bernal as found in his 1939 book The Social Function of Science.
See also
- Scientific freedomScientific freedomScientific freedom is the idea of freedom applied to natural science, in particular the practices of scientific research and discourse, mainly by publication...
- AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and ResponsibilityAAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and ResponsibilityThe Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility is given by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and "honors scientists and engineers whose exemplary actions, often taken at significant personal cost, have served to foster scientific freedom and responsibility". -Recipients:*...
- American Association for the Advancement of ScienceAmerican Association for the Advancement of ScienceThe American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
Further reading
- John R. Baker. "Michael Polanyi's contributions to the cause of freedom in science". Minerva. Vol.16, Num.3, September, 1978.