[Homework Book (Self-Study)] Science Class: Questioning the Present State of Science
[Text]
"Questioning the Present State of Science" (Kodansha Gendai Shinsho) by Yoichiro Murakami
[ Content ]
Has the development of science and technology made humans happy?
It re-examines this from various angles, including nuclear power, medicine, and information technology.
[ Table of Contents ]
Chapter 1: The Transformation of Scientific Research
Chapter 2: Technology and Safety
Chapter 3: Medicine and Modern Science and Technology
Chapter 4: Information and Science/Technology
Chapter 5: Science/Technology and Ethics
Chapter 6: Science/Technology and Education
[ Problem Statement ]
There exists the concept of a museum that collects all sorts of rare things, but I sometimes wonder what the actual purpose of natural history as a discipline is.
Perhaps, I cannot help but think that natural history might just be satisfying individual curiosity or a penchant for collecting.
That is because the point that this natural history is
"socially useful"
is not necessarily clear, is it?
According to this book, the discipline of science was only established in the 19th century, and before that, for example, Newton was not called a scientist.
In other words, Newton's scholarship was by no means
"useful to the world"
It was understood as something that satisfied the curiosity or spirit of inquiry of Newton himself or his patrons.
In that sense, it was thought that there was no major difference between an artist creating a work and a scientist conducting research.
However, after that, science became linked with technology,
"useful to the world"
It came to be understood as something that was, and scientists themselves became conscious of this, and even came to think of earning rewards from its results, which caused science to change significantly.
[ Conclusion ]
In this way, the book, which unfolds from the perspectives of the relationship between science and society and the problem of morality in science, covers a wide range of topics, including the problems of modern Japanese science education and the causal relationship between the JCO criticality accident and "Japan as a technology-based nation."
While mentioning the irrationality of the logic of people who say that the birth of a human clone is ethically impermissible, it analyzes the chaos that the unchecked progress of cloning technology would cause; the questions raised about the current state surrounding science are truly interesting.
We live in a world where science is considered omnipotent, but is it really okay to leave everything to science or scientific thinking?
The author's sincere gaze directed at science and society makes us aware of many problems in modern society.
As an introduction,
"What is science?"
I will try to look back on this from a Vega-like (single-celled organism) perspective.
Science originally started from,
"intellectual curiosity."
It could also be said that intellectual curiosity is a deeper understanding of nature.
The beginning of science is considered to be from ancient Greek natural philosophy.
On the other hand, modern science opened its curtains with Copernicus in the 16th century, and Galileo, Kepler, and Newton in the 17th century.
For example, I apologize for focusing on physics, but progress was made in elucidating the motion of objects, the physics of gases, liquids, and solids, the elements, molecules, and atoms that make up matter, as well as heat, electricity, magnetism, and light.
I wonder if those who conducted such research were not in a position where they had to struggle for their daily bread.
However, it seems that it was only a fortunate few in the much later stages who benefited from the fact that the results of their research were useful to society.
To skip ahead significantly, in the 20th century, attention was turned to the understanding of atoms from radioactive substances (radioactivity).
Eventually, "quantum mechanics," which elucidates the micro world, was born, and the foundation for today's electronics was built.
The period from the 20th century onwards is called modern physics, and everything before that is called classical physics.
In any case, a characteristic of modern physics is that it is astonishingly difficult.
From problems related to light (electromagnetic waves), the special theory of relativity was born in 1905 as a consequence of classical physics.
Einstein spent 10 years generalizing this, and it became a theory that could handle the universe (time and space).
This is the general theory of relativity, and what is called modern cosmology also starts from there.
Now, how have people (society) interacted with science (technology)?
I will reflect on this.
In the 20th century, during World War I, science and technology developed dramatically as tools and weapons of war.
These included airplanes, tanks, gunpowder, and poison gas.
In Europe, total war, which mobilized the scientific power of modern states, led to tragic results.
The same thing, foolishly, happened again in World War II.
Battleships, fighter planes, rockets, communications, radar, and chemical weapons.
And, the ultimate weapon of destruction: the atomic bomb.
Japan had many of its cities, including Tokyo, burned by air raids, and it was the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki that forced it to abandon the continuation of the war.
Due to World War II, which claimed over ten million lives worldwide, people should have learned that
using the power of science for war leads to terrible consequences.
They should have learned that.
Therefore, for a time, it was decided to use the fruits of science for
peaceful industries.
That was the decision.
These included passenger planes, railways, automobiles, radio, television, home appliances, synthetic fibers, and chemical fertilizers.
However, transportation tools caused accidents, radio and television spread noise, and chemical fertilizers led to the devastation of the land.
Peaceful industries were simultaneously accompanied by pollution, such as noise, air pollution, and waste.
Even the science and technology that were supposed to be used for peaceful industries to make people prosperous have produced not a few tragedies, such as Minamata disease.
It also took a long time to learn that humans must pay close attention to make use of the results of insensitive science.
Behind convenience, unexpected tragedies were lurking in the shadows.
In this 21st century, things like game consoles, the internet, and mobile phones
"Fun and convenient devices"
one cannot be too careful about what kind of negative aspects they might have.
For example, if young people capable of flexible thinking waste and consume their precious time on things like games, and lose the ability to distinguish between games and reality...
Even if it doesn't go that far, what would happen if a large number of young people appeared who lack awareness as members of a social community and are unable to make value judgments or act as functioning members of society?
It is worth considering whether it is appropriate to expose children with immature judgment to the world of the internet.
I cannot help but feel that it is like making them walk through a minefield buried with bombs that distort values.
That said, the reality is that we cannot simply choose not to teach that technology.
We should face the fact that it is said that the time saved by using a computer is lost to computer-related troubles.
[ Comment ]
In any case, it goes without saying that the power of science and technology supports today's affluent Japanese society.
Just as a kitchen knife can be used to cook delicious food, it can also be used to kill someone.
As more advanced scientific achievements are provided, the competence of the humans using them will be tested.
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[Reference Articles]
The basic subjects established by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology are the following 10 subjects.
■ Japanese
■ Social Studies
■ Arithmetic
■ Science
■ Living Environment Studies
■ Music
■ Arts and Crafts
■ Home Economics
■ Physical Education
■ Foreign Language Activities (English)
Foreign language activities became compulsory starting with the Course of Study revised in 2020.
They are included as "Foreign Language Activities" for 3rd and 4th-grade elementary students, and as the subject "English" for 5th and 6th-grade students.
As for other subjects and activities, it seems that in addition to the 10 subjects above, the following 3 types can be organized in elementary school classes.
■ Moral Education
■ Special Activities
■ Period for Integrated Studies