Stakman • Scientific and Social Development of the World 133 



still are biological; human subsistence, dangerous consequences of world over- 

 human health, and human relations. population, even if wq ourselves are not 



One of man's greatest mysteries is over-populated, 

 man himself. Being alive, he is con- Biology is the hope of the world. It 

 cerned with life; knowing he must die, is the science that shows how better to 

 he is concerned with death. Even sustain life and how to save it, how to 

 primitive men wanted to live; they produce food and how to protect 

 wanted so much to continue to live that against disease. But are lives to be 

 they believed in life after death. Nearly saved from disease only to perish from 

 all men want to live long and they want hunger? It would be inhuman not to 

 to live comfortably; and some have control diseases; we preach the doc- 

 faith that biology may enable them to trine of the sanctity of human life, and 

 realize their hope, even though they must live it. Society begged, and still is 

 may not realize exactly what biology is. begging, medical science to make life 



Biology could be defined as the long and painless. But is society really 



most important science in the world, conscious of the enormous hunger pain 



Even the more ardent biologists, how- in the world and of the scientific effort 



ever, probably would insist that this is required to alleviate it? Must we ig- 



not a definition but mere statement of nore population explosions while pre- 



fact. And they would be right. In a occupied with other types of explo- 



world that is still populated largely by sions? 



human beings, who are anthropocentric Like Bacon, many biologists ask "Is 



enough to be interested in themselves, truth barren? Shall we not thereby be 



in their persistence, and in their civili- able to produce worthy effects, and to 



zation, biology is a most important endow the life of man with infinite 



science. commodities?" Bacon pitted knowledge 



In an age of mechanization there is and invention against ignorance, hun- 

 a tendency to forget that machines do ger and poverty. In his New Atlantis 

 not make the food contained in car- he not only recognized scientists and 

 tons, cans, kegs and bottles— unless technologists as special social assets, 

 they make it more expensive. Only a but he put them in charge of social 

 catastrophic food shortage can shock affairs; he had them run the govern- 

 many people into the realization that ment so well that there was little need 

 food production is a biological process for government. There were no poli- 

 carried on by plants and animals under ticians, and the scientist governors 

 the supervision of practical biologists, were engaged in studying and control- 

 commonly known as farmers. ling nature rather than in ruling men. 



In countries which, like the United Biologists were improving plants and 

 States, produce market surpluses of animals that man might be better fed; 

 food-stuffs, it may be difficult to realize they were improving medical science 

 that about three-fourths of the people that men might longer enjoy their bet- 

 in the world are now hungry and that ter food. Psyclwlogists and sociologists 

 the population threatens to double were studying man that men might be 

 within the next 40 years. Dare we be better behaved. 



smugly unconcerned about the prob- The New Atlantis, thanks to biolo- 



lems of feeding more than S billion gists and other scientists, subsisted its 



people in 1998, when we cannot ade- own people, did not war for foreign 



quately feed half that number now? markets, but sent "Merchants of Light" 



Surely we are not obtuse enough to to the far corners of the earth to 



think that we will be immune from the garner wisdom and bring it back to 



