▲Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry, and his wife Lavoisier's motto was: "Not by conjecture, but by facts." ”
In modern times, it has been a long and tortuous process for "science" to be recognized by the Chinese. Today, although the word "science" is well known to the Chinese people, it is still seriously misunderstood, most notably because "science" is often confused with "technology", and the concept of "science" is often replaced by "technology".
If a country wants to improve its scientific level, if it only pays attention to the application of technology, but does not study the basic disciplines and cultural spirit behind it, it is destined to be difficult to develop for a long time.
For example, it is not the lush foliage that determines how tall a tree can grow, but how deep its roots are and how high its trunk is – for science, basic disciplines are like the trunk of a tree, which determines the depth and height of a country's understanding of the universe.
So, what is the basic discipline and cultural spirit of science?
▌A history of science is a history of civilization from a rational perspective
Many people have the impression that science is "science" such as mathematics, chemistry, and physics. In fact, in addition to these, science also involves religion, philosophy, logic, and other disciplines, and their importance has been underestimated by us for a long time.
Reason and faith are the wings of human civilization, and science is the most dazzling fruit of reason. The real history of science is actually a history of civilization from a rational perspective, covering all kinds of knowledge such as mathematics, philosophy, and logic required for science, as well as the environment of thought, system, and belief.
For example, in the stage of "laying the foundation" of human civilization, the ancient Greek philosophers left two major legacies:
· The philosopher's spirit of using reason and constantly seeking truth from the world;
· He has made achievements in a series of basic disciplines, among which formal logic is a necessary condition for the emergence of science.
These two legacies have run through the "relay race" of Western civilization for more than 2,000 years, and finally triggered the modern scientific revolution.
Comparatively speaking, the pragmatism in oriental culture has led to the fact that although ancient China has the world's leading four major inventions and other technological applications, it has not formed a scientific spirit of seeking truth.
Basic science is stagnant, and even if there are sporadic technologies, they cannot be superimposed and iterated after all. In the context of globalization, it is difficult for countries with backward basic science to make breakthroughs in the "root technology" that is stuck in the neck.
A history of science is a history of civilization from a rational perspective – and in this "history of civilization", China's contributions are very small. This is inseparable from the lack of scientific spirit.
▌Behind the spirit of science and innovation, in fact, is "human freedom"
If the level of research in basic science determines "hard power", then the popularization of the scientific spirit among the public is the invisible "soft power".
The most basic characteristic of the scientific spirit is the use of reason and logic to think and judge independently on matters within the scope of science. However, logic and critical thinking are chronically lacking in our education system.
In reality, a lot of false news and brainwashing remarks can be distinguished from falsehood with a little use of scientific thinking, but there are countless people who believe in it.
In daily life, all kinds of anti-scientific remarks and behaviors are always prevalent and shocking. For example, during the first two years of the pandemic, some people chose to drink high alcohol to prevent poisoning, some people took antibiotics as soon as they showed symptoms, and some drugs that were not tested in a double blind were advertised as miracle cures......
Why is the spirit of science still so scarce in China today?
Wu Guosheng, corresponding academician of the International Academy of History of Science and head of the Department of History of Science at Tsinghua University, once said:
"Technology is actually a thing that must be rewarded with courage; Science, on the other hand, is creative, and ultimately rooted in the dimension of human freedom, without free development of personality, without free space, innovation and creativity are trees without roots, water without sources. ”
The so-called scientific spirit is the spirit of freedom. Human freedom is exactly what Chinese society and Chinese have lacked since ancient times.
▌Three dimensions of the scientific spirit: questioning the essence, respecting the facts, and defending the truth
Mr. Wu Guosheng said that science is actually a human phenomenon with a high degree of cultural dependence, rather than a human thing that exists purely for the purpose of survival.
●The first dimension of the scientific spirit is the spirit of inquiry from the phenomenon to the essence. It is very different from "utilitarian inquiry":
Science asks about the laws that govern everything behind phenomena, while utilitarian questions are more concerned with whether a tool is useful or not.
There are skilled craftsmen and four great inventions in China, but no one further asks why the compass is always a guide, and what laws exist behind it?
The question stops at the instrumental level – this is the answer and reason for Joseph Needham's difficult question "why did modern science not appear in technologically advanced China?"
● The second dimension of the scientific spirit is respect for facts, because this is the core of scientific research, and it is a process of constantly verifying the truth or falsity of propositions with evidence, so that "true propositions" replace "false propositions".
To respect the facts, we must understand the most basic facts of each subject, and we must also master the most important common sense. For example, you can not understand medicine, but you must respect the basic facts about the "virus"; You can't be an economist, but you must know that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and free things are generally the most expensive in the end.
Respecting facts means not deceiving oneself, let alone distorting oneself, even if it hurts one's own emotions and impacts or even subverts one's cognition.
Only when scientific research is based on facts, rather than falsifying data and fabricating facts for political purposes, can there be hope for such science and the development of such a society.
The third dimension of the scientific spirit is to defend the truth, and it is not only difficult to discover the truth, but also to disseminate and defend the truth.
Although Copernicus created the "heliocentric theory", the biggest scientific concept revolution in the 16th century, it was Bruno who openly spread and defended the "heliocentric theory" under great religious pressure.
There has never been a shortage of intellectuals in China who have dedicated their lives to the country, but intellectuals who dare to stand up to power for the truth are rare in history, and the lack of scientific spirit is really an important reason.
▌The biggest challenge for China's future is its attitude towards truth and nature
It is particularly worth emphasizing that the spirit of science is not equal to "scientism", the spirit of science is a spirit of seeking truth, and "scientism" is to judge everything in the world in the name of science.
Science has its boundaries, and once this boundary is crossed, people's moral bottom line may collapse, and the consequences are very likely to be terrible humanitarian disasters.
When human freedom is trampled on by "scientism", the foundation of the scientific spirit no longer exists. Therefore, "scientism" is, in fact, the opposite of the scientific spirit.
However, the spirit of science has never entered the cultural core of the Chinese people, and the root of the problem is not that the Chinese people ignore science, but precisely that the Chinese people attach too much importance to science, even to the point of "scientism". We often abuse science where it shouldn't, and it's unscientific where it should be.
What Chinese lack most is scientific thinking, especially the ability to discern logical thinking and think independently. Although the concept of "Mr. Sai" has been introduced to China for more than 100 years, in fact, "science" is quite weak in the eyes of Chinese, it has not become a culture, let alone a spirit, and science has never successfully taken root in China.
Therefore, all kinds of cheating and abduction are always successful. Regardless of their educational background or age, there are always people who believe that Banlan root can cure all diseases, Lianhua Qingwen can fight viruses, and there are always people who give money to scammers; The top ten rumors and top ten frauds are updated every year, and they continue to appear; There are always people who make chips and cheat funds under the guise of "science......
The biggest challenge for China in the future is its attitude towards truth and nature. Today's science education should not only teach scientific knowledge, but also emphasize the history, scientific method, and scientific spirit of science. Only by cultivating scientific thinking can individuals and the country fundamentally get rid of blindness and ignorance and move towards rationality and strength.
Although there are many books on "science" on the market today, the vast majority of books are still only popularizing scientific knowledge and have never penetrated into the "soul" of science.
For this reason, I especially recommend this set of "Cambridge History of Science", which is a set of general history of world science that starts from the spirit of science, cracks scientific fallacies, systematically explains scientific methods, and restores the most authentic appearance of science——
This set of "Cambridge History of Science" restores the most authentic appearance of science, and not only clarifies the relationship between science and technology and faith, but also perfectly combines scientific theory and humanistic thinking in each chapter.
Another volume is devoted to the sociological fields of psychology, economics, political science, anthropology, and other sciences. Therefore, it has been praised as "integrating the history of disciplines, ideas, institutions, and society in one furnace, highlighting every moving scenery in the course of science", and can be called a set of "sobering works" that comprehensively clarify various misunderstandings of science.
There is a saying in the history of Chinese science called "Nanjiang North Wu", which refers to Wu Guosheng and Jiang Xiaoyuan, two big figures in the history of science, and this time the Chinese edition specially invited them to translate the "Cambridge History of Science". The entire translation team is the backbone of the domestic scientific history community, refreshing the peak of Chinese scientific classics.
For professional researchers, this set of books is worth keeping at hand in case they can be consulted at any time, and they will not be outdated for 40 years (Wu Guosheng); For the general reader, this is currently the most authoritative work for understanding the development of science and cultivating the scientific spirit. The Chinese version of this book was published simultaneously with Cambridge Press, and on the basis of the perfect restoration of the original version, it has been comprehensively upgraded in terms of binding and paper.
Therefore, the Cambridge History of Science, which combines authority, thought and craftsmanship, can be called an indispensable set of "scientific classics" in a family library, a set of "philosophical classics" that pay tribute to the spirit of science and a "classic of art" that entrusts the standards of excellence, and is the best gift for collecting heirlooms and giving to relatives and friends. Long as below the figure,