MANKIND AND THE PROGRESS OF SCIENCE 319 



What science intends, both for the immediate and the 

 remote future, is to keep going. The scientist believes that 

 his rationalistic method offers a means of moving forward, 

 which sets no limit and sees no end. He is content to main- 

 tain the advance without undue speculation regarding im- 

 mediate or ultimate goals. There are plenty of problems 

 within vision, and many opportunities for applications of the 

 facts now established. Most to be feared is a frame of mind 

 that discourages investigation, for example, any widespread 

 conviction that certain classes of problems cannot be solved. 

 Whether he advances knowledge or not, the individual 

 scientist is determined to keep trying; for it is his creed that 

 to try persistently will in time produce worth while results. 



The future of mankind seems likely to be a scientific fu- 

 ture. Modern culture has come into being through science 

 and through the control of natural phenomena, which is 

 bred of scientific knowledge. The rationalistic scientific 

 spirit is the spirit of the modern world. Any thinking man 

 can comprehend the relation of science to human affairs, 

 although comprehension may demand reversal in mental 

 orientation. Science is the product of human reason applied 

 to the phenomena of nature, human nature included. Its 

 course has not been run. The future is bright with a prom- 

 ise that stands at the threshold of realization. Ignoring of 

 science by one generation bars the door of progress and 

 the next generation suffers accordingly. Understanding of 

 science is the greatest legacy we can bequeath to posterity. 



