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Man can achieve a A^der range of goals by the use of science than 

 without. But the appHcation of science defines limits as well as op- 

 portunities, and sometimes both together. Science has become the 

 art of the possible; politics is evolving into an institution for reconciling 

 the force of inexorable cause-and-effect natural law with the per- 

 versities of human desires and preferences. It must answer the ques- 

 tion: How much science does society want? 



The Scientific Framework 



The concept followed in this study is that basic scientific research 

 has as its goal the discovery of facts about nature. It is structured 

 into such disciplines as physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, 

 et cetera; into such subdisciplines as solid state physics, inorganic 

 chemistry, solar astronomy, et cetera; and into such integratmg dis- 

 ciplines as physical chemistry, astrophysics, ecology, et cetera. 



Applied research is the use of information about nature, derived from 

 basic research, and employed to make feasible some social goal. 

 It is structured in two ways: (1) Into loose categories of like fields 

 or disciplines, such as meteorology, metallurgy, electronics, agronomy, 

 et cetera; these overlap with (2) subject categories suggesting purpose, 

 such as transportation, communications, materials, and standards, 

 et cetera. All goals of applied research aim at a single overriding ob- 

 jective, which is to improve the compatibihty between man and his 

 en^-ironment. 



For purposes of social analysis, it is convenient to classify applied 

 scientific research into four types of activities by broad social purpose, 

 as foUows: 



1. Physical modification of man: An improvement in the feasi- 

 bility of man's capability to adapt himself to his envu"oimient by 

 physical changes of his own structure. 



2. Application of natural resources: An improvement in the 

 feasibility of man's exploitation of the resources of nature to change 

 the physical environment to render it more compatible with man. 



3. Environmental restoration: An improvement in the feasibility 

 of corrective actions to restore the physical environment by reversing 

 impairments wrought by man or by natural forces. 



4. The social enviromnent: An improvement in the feasibility of 

 actions by man to enhance his compatibility as an element of the 

 changing social/human envii'onment. 



The relationsliip between science and politics is epitomized by a 

 comparison of their respective goals: environmental compatibihty 

 versus human freedom. Human freedom is e^ddently diminished by 

 man's incompatibility \nth his enviromnent. It is also diminished by 

 the imposition of regulation and control to improve his compatibility 

 with his envu-onment. In assessing each issue involving scientific 

 matters. Congress appears to need ad\4ce that will help to answer 

 tliree fundamental questions: 



(1) What is the potential contribution of the action to improved 

 compatibihty of man with his environment? 



(2) What are the costs and benefits of the action, in terms of human 

 freedom? 



(3) In the particular issue, how much freedom is equal to how much 

 compatibihty? 



