SCIENCE AND THE COMMUNITY 509 



thougli it must be briefly and more by way of putting some thoughts into 

 your minds, than by discussing them fully with you. 



Further investigation by the scientist is not universally welcomed. 

 The reason is that physical science and machinery mean pretty much the 

 same thing in the public mind, and two accusations are made against 

 machinery which are in very many minds as they see what wonderful 

 things science has done in recent years. 



But first of all there is the general doubt whether this machine age has 

 brought us on the balance any benefit, and is anything more than an 

 unfortunate by-road in world history. It is argued that, in pursuing the 

 machine, man has lost his soul and those qualities which proved that he 

 had a soul. That great question in aesthetics cannot be dealt with in this 

 lecture, even as a side-issue. I believe, however, that a very large part 

 of the case for doubt is based upon the misuse of certain applications of 

 scientific discovery for which the man of science cannot be blamed and 

 ought not to be blamed. But, further than that, I am not at all sure but 

 that the proper use directed by such intelligence of science will be found 

 to provide the antidote — conditions of leisure and culture which will 

 enable us to rediscover the qualities of life which modern society is said 

 to have lost. It is worth thinking about. 



But there are two doubtful thoughts of immediate importance which 

 I must notice, if for no other reason than to show that my great admiration 

 has not been reached by shutting my eyes to anything that has been said 

 on the other side. The position indicated in the sentence I quoted from 

 Professor Lancelot Hogben is in my mind. 



Much of the new machinery appears to displace labour and so create 

 a new source of unemployment supply. This is shown dramatically in 

 agriculture. I saw it during this summer. At hoeing time the fields are 

 occupied by labour as before ; at reaping time the field, crowded fifty 

 years ago, by lively men and women singing happy songs and dressed so 

 as to be bright points for catching and reflecting the warm unclouded 

 sun, are now empty and silent save for the reaping machine and its rattle. 

 And it is said that every industry where machinery can be profitably 

 introduced tells the same tale. Therefore in many quarters science is 

 regarded as the enemy of human beings who desire to live as self-support- 

 ing workers. So has it always been at times of great change : that allega- 

 tion has always been made in industrial production. A reply may be 

 made which reminds us of the experiences of labour in history, that the 

 displacement of men by machinery has always been but temporary, and 

 that with an increase in national wealth we also have an increase in the 

 national demand for labour. There is some evidence that that experience 

 is being repeated to-day. It is, however, rather unconvincing to the man 

 who actually finds himself unemployed because a machine more efiicient 

 than himself as a producer has taken his place in mind and factory. Be 

 that as it may, machinery which takes the place of the hard, uninspiring 

 and deadening drudgery of human beings is all to the good, and that which 

 multiplies the efficiency of human skill is also to the good. I look, how- 

 ever — I have already said and I repeat it — to the more direct benefits, 

 and do not see why they should not be obtained mainly from an increase 

 in leisure, the enjoyment and use of which are amongst the most pressing 



