In this chapter, you have been asked to think about the nature of science and the role that science
has played in American culture and the world at large. In particular, this chapter explores Americans' seemingly contradictory attitude toward science. On the one hand, Americans revere science and are in awe of its power to discover what as once thought un-knowable and do what was once thought un-doable. On the other hand, Americans fear the power of science to escape the control of human beings. The readings present a number of different voices, both scientists and non-scientists, as illustrated by the chapter's opening quotations. Consider why people -- including you and your classmates -- express such different attitudes toward something that is usually not thought of as controversial.
Some starting places:
Should the quest for scientific knowledge be boundless?
(Shelley, Bishop, Rifkin)
What drives human beings to seek scientific knowledge of the world?
(Shelley, Martin)
Whose interests should science serve?
(Shelley, Thomas, Martin, Kelly)
What is the relationship between science and reality?
(Shelley, Rifkin, Martin)
What is the relationship between science and reality, and what might be the real-world effects of particular scientific and technological change?
(Shelley, Rifkin, Oppenheimer)
Some possible topics:
What motivates Victor Frankenstein? Who might be motivated by these same forces? Are
they good ones? Who decides ? Do good motivations sometimes lead to negative
consequences, and vice versa? If so, what should be the relationship between ambition and actions? What might be the relationship between the imagination and scientific inquiry?
Write an imaginary dialogue between any of the writers we have read in this section. What are their views on science? What would they agree on? Disagree? How would they resolve their differences?
Try tracing the human origins and the human consequences of science and technology delineated by such writers as Shelley, Bishop, Rifkin, Oppenheimer and Martin.
Explore the metaphorical power of words and images in any one of the articles you have read. What is the purpose of the metaphor or image? How does a particular metaphor or image guide the way we think about a given topic?
Compare and contrast the major claims of any two writers. Weighing one set of claims against the other, which do you find to be the most persuasive. Why? Where might you need more evidence?
More starting places:
Bishop:
"We scientists can no longer leave the problem to others. Indeed, it has been ours to solve, and all of society in now paying for our neglect."
"Resistance to science is born of fear."
Shelley:
"I had desired it with an ardor that far exceeded moderation; but now that I had finished,the beauty of the dream vanished, and breathless horror and disgust filled my heart."
Rifkin:
"[Each] new synthetic introduction is tantamount to playing ecological Russian roulette."
"Humans have been remaking the Earth for as long as we have had a history."
Martin:
"The portrait of the body conveyed most often and most vividly in the mass media showsit as a defended nation-state, organized around a hierarchy of gender, race, and class."
You may use the above as starting places to focus your paper, or you may wish to
develop your own question for a focus and try to answer it. The final draft should be a minimum of 6 pages (double spaced, MLA format with a Works Cited page).
A question worth answering:
An audience who could possibly care:
You may email me question at janet.cross@.csun.edu or send questions to the class MOO list.