The Biologist as Public Intellectual: Julian Huxley

史蒂芬·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》在科学史上有着鲜活的历史。在17世纪，像罗伯特·胡克或罗伯特·博伊尔这样的科学家会公开展示他们所进行的实验。19世纪，朱利安的祖父托马斯·赫胥黎与“索比”·威尔伯福斯主教就进化论的有效性展开了著名的辩论。玛格丽特·米德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，共同撰写了一份关于世界和平的公开呼吁。在20世纪80年代的S，卡尔·萨根在电视上无处不在地谈论着数十亿颗星星的奇迹。斯蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德出现在电视上，在人满为患的大厅里做公开演讲，并为《自然历史》杂志撰写了一系列广受欢迎的散文。虽然这些科学家中的许多人即使不是被他们的同行--例如米德和萨根--不信任，也会被直接嘲笑--但这种敌意很大程度上是值得羡慕的，也是对这些科学家在向公众传递科学热情方面所扮演的角色的真正误解。一个人如何实现“公共知识分子”的角色以及它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世纪生命科学的重要人物。他在胚胎学、行为学和进化论等多个领域做出了重要贡献。他是1930年S和1940年S进化综合的主要设计师--自然选择理论与遗传学和种群理论的新概念的新达尔文主义的统一。然而，除了“纯粹的”科学之外，赫胥黎也是一位才华横溢、多产的普及者。他与H·G·威尔斯合作研究生命科学，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《大脑信托》中，并于1946年成为联合国教科文组织的第一位总干事，从而为他的努力承担了一个国际舞台。实际上，赫胥黎将自己从一名研究人员转变为一名公共知识分子--在这个位置上，他努力传播他所称的“进化人文主义”的科学信条。他出色地展示了科学家如何认为他们的领域与道德和社会目的问题密切相关。他提出了可以被称为科学文化的情感层面--在科学的救赎和创造文化的力量中，根深蒂固的乐观主义水平。赫胥黎的生平为科学家与公共领域的关系以及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。

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.