Science and Citizenship 



of the older spiritual communities the event here, 

 too, is celebrated by a particular ceremony of 

 initiation. The scientific ritual of initiation has 

 two well-marked stages. The first consists in the 

 contribution of a memoir to the proceedings of the 

 relevant society. The second consists of a copious 

 baptism, in the form of a cold-water douche of 

 criticism, from his brother scientists. 



XX 



If the foregoing analysis has suggested a fanciful 

 analogy between religious and scientific experience, 

 it has entirely failed in its purpose. The intention 

 has been not to suggest an analogy, but to indicate 

 an essential similarity, indeed, a partial identity of 

 type. In the language not of psychology, but of 

 sociology, the contention is that the scientific and 

 religious groups are vitally related in their social 

 origins and functions. Addressing an audience of 

 biologists one would probably convey the intended 

 impression by saying that science and religion are 

 social organs which are in part both homologous 

 and analogous. But the rightly discredited usage 

 of biological terminology in social science prohibits 

 recourse to that language. The argument is that 

 science has its social as well as its logical and 

 psychological aspects, and that from the former 

 point of view a scientific society is manifestly to 

 be classed amongst the social institutions. And 

 that, moreover, in the wide and varied range of 

 social institutions the place of a scientific society 

 is, it is affirmed, alongside of the church. The 



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