Led by Dr. Munger, this unit took a psychological approach to the humanities by studying abstract art. This post responds to a reading from CP Snow titled, Two Cultures.
Science versus Humanities: “Dialectic” Separation?
! It is interesting how Snow suggests education reform as the solution to the polarity of these two cultures. Even though this text was written in 1959, England’s education still seems more specialized than in the United States today, particularly in higher education. Snow also blames England’s “tendency to let social forms crystallise” which is fairly vague but could simply mean that Snow believes that England is generally slow to give in to cultural changes (17).
? On page 8, Snow addresses the criticism he has received in separating intellectual subjects into two categories: science and literary. What would Snow have to think about the social sciences, where the humanities and sciences overlap? This “dialectic” separation is extreme to me. Could Snow be doing this to argue differences in intellectual culture rather than academia itself?
Scientific Theories that I recognized:
Special Relativity Albert Einstein, 1905
General Relativity, Albert Einstein, 1915
Evolution by Natural Selection, Charles Darwin, 1859
Heliocentrism, Copernicus, 1543
Scientific Experiments that I recognized:
“Gregor Mendel Cultivates Genetics”
“Issac Newton Eye Optics”
Marie Curie Radioactivity
“Ivan Pavlov Salivates at the Idea”
