The Biologist as Public Intellectual: Julian Huxley

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”在科学史上有着生动的历史。在17世纪，像罗伯特·胡克或罗伯特·波义耳这样的科学家会公开展示他们所做的实验。在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（Bishop“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，并在此过程中研究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（Carl Sagan）在电视上无处不在地谈论着“数十亿亿”星星的奇迹。斯蒂芬·杰伊·古尔德出现在电视上，在座无旁落的大厅里发表公开演讲，并为《自然历史》杂志撰写了一系列广受欢迎的文章。虽然这些科学家中的许多人如果不是被他们的同行（如米德和萨根）直接嘲笑的话，也是不被信任的，但这种敌意在很大程度上可以归结为嫉妒，以及对这些科学家在向公众传播科学热情方面所起作用的真正误解。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世纪生命科学领域的重要人物。他在许多领域做出了重要贡献，包括胚胎学、动物行为学和进化理论。他是20世纪30年代和40年代进化综合理论的主要缔造者——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。除了“纯”科学，赫胥黎还是一位天才和多产的科普家。他与h·g·威尔斯合作了《生命科学》一书，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”中，并于1946年成为联合国教科文组织的第一任总干事，从而为他的努力登上了国际舞台。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，他努力传播他称之为“进化人文主义”的科学信条。他出色地展示了科学家们是如何认为他们的领域与道德问题和社会目的密切相关的。他让我们看到了科学文化的情感层面——在科学的救赎和文化创造力量中被深深培育的乐观主义层面。赫胥黎的一生为关于科学家与公共领域的关系的争论，以及关于现代主义作为本世纪独特的文化形态的争论提供了历史视角。

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.