ESSAY: How does Kevles's analysis of physics and society compare with Lewis's vision of medicine and society?

Daniel Kevles describes in the following statement how science was considered by many during the early 20th century: "science was good for business, business good for America, and, in consequence, science good for the nation's economic and spiritual well-being" (184). This line of reasoning held up science as a savior; many believed that science would bring them prosperity and save them from the ills of the world. In this way, science became a religion of sorts. It was a supernatural power controlling the world, and the scientists, the clergy of this faith, could bring comfort to the people who were willing to listen and believe. Both Kevles, in his book on the history of modern science, and Sinclair Lewis, in his medical research satire Arrowsmith, describe instances of science as a religion. In these sources, scientists are either missionaries, who find that their duty is to inform the public, or monks, who live in seclusion and devote their lives to work towards understanding better this higher power.

The analogy between science and religion is not unusual and is prevalent in both of these sources as it was in the early 20th century. Charles R. Richards wrote in 1922 that "service to man . . . is the slogan of the scientist today" (quoted in Kevles 183).This missionary work was welcomed by the people as demonstrated by David Dietz's remark in 1928, "Never . . . has the public been so eager for scientific information as it is today" (quoted in Kevles 174). The key as the scientists found was to promote the "intellectual accessibility of science to the layman" (Kevles 98). This method is similar to what a missionary must do for religion. Arrowsmith witnesses such a mission when he goes to Iowa and joins up with Dr. Almus Pickerbaugh who proselytizes on better public health and on the prevention of disease. The way that this doctor makes the science accessible to all is by creating jingles and songs that his daughters chant to the public. In this way he is spreading the Good Word and is even compared to a famous religious leader. So much is science a part of these people's spiritual well-being; churches are even inviting scientists to services in order to give sermons. Before Arrowsmith speaks to the congregation, the pastor leads them in prayer and hymn-singing. Science is then integrated into the service. Conversely, some scientists integrate religion into their science. Reverend Hinkley, a medical student, remarks that "the glory of being a doctor is that you can teach folks high ideals while you soothe their tortured bodies" (Lewis 15). Einstein, however, equated science with God as shown by his comment on wave equations: "The theory accomplishes a lot, but it does not bring us closer to the secrets of the Old One. In any case, I am convinced that He does not play dice" (quoted in Kevles 167).

As shown by the previous quote, not all scientists were necessarily interested in humanity itself, but instead in the "secrets of the Old One" (ibid.). Arrowsmith is one of those people. As he begins his studies in medical school he makes the following realization: "In the study of the profession to which he had looked forward all his life he found irritation and vacuity as well as serene wisdom; he saw no one clear path to Truth but a thousand paths to a thousand truths far-off and doubtful" (Lewis 18). Arrowsmith believes that his work is divine when it is done away from the pressures of the outside world; in a sense he wants to become a monk and perform pure duties untainted by worldly things. By the end of the book, Arrowsmith is able to accomplish this by working in a secluded lab in the woods of Vermont. A reporter of this time period, after observing a group of the top physicists in the United States, noticed that the scientists were "unpretentious, devoting every hour of the day to their labors with little thought of self and career" (quoted in  Kevles 177). This belief that pure science, as opposed to science for profit or glory, was divine was present in this time period. Irving Langmuir once commented that "the minute [a scientist] allowed [him or herself] to deviate from the path of pure science, [he or she] will lose something in character" (quoted in Kevles 99).

If that previous statement is true, then many scientists lost their integrity quickly by joining with industrial companies and selling their ideas for profit. Furthermore, with the recession, scientists' authority was not only questioned but also blamed for the nation's inability to recover from the crash. Kevles remarks that these attitudes were not unlike "those earlier days when men began to doubt the authority and infallibility of the Church" (Kevles 243). Arrowsmith, however, is able to escape this fate by running away from profits and became one of the few who could be "devoted to science purely for the sake of science . . . [and] to work that promises no return except the satisfaction of adding to the sum of human knowledge" (quoted in Kevles 26). Although Kevles shows the struggle between pure and applied science, Lewis seems to demonstrate in his book that in order to be pure you must perform purely and devotely as a monk.
 
 
 

Back to Rise of Modern Science	Learning
Main Page	Evaluation
Teaching	Reflection