The Biologist as Public Intellectual: Julian Huxley

作为公共知识分子的生物学家：朱利安·赫胥黎

• 批准号: 9511474
• 负责人: Stephen Cross
• 金额: $ 9.56万
• 依托单位: Individual Award
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 1995
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1995-12-01 至 1998-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9511474&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Biologist; Public; Intellectual; Julian; Huxley

Stephen Cross: "The Biologist as Public Intellectual: Julian Huxley" The "Public Intellectual" has had a vivid history in science. In the 17th century, scientists such as Robert Hooke or Robert Boyle would stage public exhibitions of the experiments they conducted. In the 19th century, Thomas Huxley, Julian's grandfather, engaged in famous debates about the validity of evolution with Bishop "Soapy" Wilberforce. Margaret Mead took it upon herself to popularize anthropology and, in the process, took on issues of peace and war. Sigmund Freud and Albert Einstein, taking advantage of their public stature, jointly authored a public appeal for world peace. In the 1980's, Carl Sagan was ubiquitous on TV speaking of the wonders of "billions and billions' of stars. Stephen Jay Gould appears on TV, gives public lectures to packed halls, and writes a popular essay series for Natural History magazine. While many of these scientists are mistrusted if not outright ridiculed by their peers -- e.g. Mead and Sagan -- much of this hostility can be laid to envy and a real misunderstanding of the role these scientists play in transmitting an enthusiasm for science to the general public. How one achieves the role of "public intellectual" and what its implications are for the scientist are the subject of this study by Dr. Cross. Julian Huxley (1887-1975) was a major figure in 20th century life sciences. He made important contributions to a number of fields, including embryology, ethology and evolutionary theory. He was a principal architect of the evolutionary synthesis in the 1930's and 1940's--the neo-Darwinian unification of the theory of natural selection with new conceptions in genetics and population theory. Beyond "pure" science, though, Huxley was also a gifted and prolific popularizer. He collaborated with H.G. Wells on The Science of Life and later became director of the London Zoo. He regularly appeared on the BBC radio program, the "Brains Trust" and became the first director gener al of UNESCO in 1946, thus assuming an international stage for his endeavors. In effect, Huxley transformed himself from a researcher into a public intellectual--a position from which he strove to disseminate the scientific creed that he termed "evolutionary humanism." He provides an outstanding demonstration of how scientists have considered their fields to be intimately involved with questions of morals and social purposes. He makes visible what might be termed the affective level of scientific culture--the level of deeply nurtured optimism in the redemptive, culture-creating power of science. Huxley's life provides historical perspective on the debates about the relation of the scientist to the public sphere, and about modernism as a distinctive cultural formation in this century.

斯蒂芬·克罗斯：《作为公共知识分子的生物学家：朱利安·赫胥黎》 “公共知识分子”在科学领域有一段生动的历史。 在17世纪，像罗伯特·胡克或罗伯特·波义耳这样的科学家会举办公开展览，展示他们所做的实验。 19世纪，朱利安的祖父托马斯·赫胥黎（Thomas Huxley）与主教“索比”威尔伯福斯（Soapy Wilberforce）就进化论的有效性进行了著名的辩论。 玛格丽特·米德（Margaret Mead）承担起普及人类学的责任，并在此过程中，承担了和平与战争的问题。 西格蒙德·弗洛伊德和阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦利用他们的公众地位，共同撰写了一份呼吁世界和平的公开呼吁。在20世纪80年代，卡尔·萨根在电视上无处不在，他谈到了“数十亿和数十亿”星星的奇迹。 史蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德出现在电视上，在座无虚席的霍尔斯里做公开讲座，并为《自然历史》杂志写了一系列受欢迎的文章。 虽然这些科学家中有许多人不被信任，如果不是被他们的同行嘲笑的话--例如米德和萨根--这种敌意在很大程度上可以归咎于嫉妒和对这些科学家在向公众传递科学热情方面所起作用的真实的误解。 一个人如何实现“公共知识分子”的角色及其对科学家的影响是克罗斯博士这项研究的主题。 朱利安·赫胥黎（Julian Huxley，1887-1975）是20世纪世纪生命科学领域的重要人物。 他在胚胎学、动物行为学和进化论等领域做出了重要贡献。 他是20世纪30年代和40年代进化综合论的主要设计师-新达尔文主义将自然选择理论与遗传学和人口理论的新概念统一起来。 然而，除了“纯”科学之外，赫胥黎还是一位天才而多产的普及者。 他与H.G.合作。威尔斯教授《生命科学》，后来成为伦敦动物园的园长。 他经常出现在英国广播公司的广播节目，“智囊团”，并成为第一个总干事联合国教科文组织于1946年，从而承担了国际舞台上，他的努力。 实际上，赫胥黎把自己从一个研究者转变成了一个公共知识分子--从这个位置上，他努力传播他称之为“进化人文主义”的科学信条。" 他提供了一个杰出的示范，科学家如何认为他们的领域是密切参与的问题，道德和社会目的。 他让我们看到了科学文化的情感层面--在科学的救赎性、文化创造性力量中根深蒂固的乐观主义。 赫胥黎的一生为关于科学家与公共领域的关系以及关于现代主义作为本世纪一种独特的文化形态的争论提供了历史的视角。