31 JAN 2012 by ideonexus
Science for Knowledge, Not Utility
Science only means knowledge; and for [Greek] ancients it did only mean knowledge. Thus the favorite science of the Greeks was Astronomy, because it was as abstract as Algebra. ... We may say that the great Greek ideal was to have no use for useful things. The Slave was he who learned useful things; the Freeman was he who learned useless things. This still remains the ideal of many noble men of science, in the sense they do desire truth as the great Greeks desired it; and their attitude is an...Chesterton appeals to the ideal of science for its own sake and not for utilitarianism.
03 JAN 2011 by ideonexus
The Danger of Culture and Science as the Solution
This phenomenon of having a memory for the race, of having an accumulated knowledge passable from one generation to another, was new in the world. But it had a disease in it. It was possible to pass on mistaken ideas. It was possible to pass on ideas which were not profitable for the race. The race has ideas, which were not profitable for the race. The race has ideas, but there are not necessarily profitable. So there came a time in which the ideas, although accumulated very slowly, were all ...Science is the cure for erroneous memes that enter our culture.