critical analysis on "The Value of Science" Essay examples

Submitted By Aziza-Davis
Words: 1126
Pages: 5

Davis
English 101-019
Feynman purposely splits up his article “The Value of Science” each piece reaching out to a certain group of people. The one thing all of these audience members have in common is that they play an important role in society. As if it was a human body, society is made of several functioning parts that play an important role in the collective survival, improvement, and happiness of the whole. So if Feynman can reach there vital parts with his speech and show them a side of science they have never seen they can show others the truth of science.
Feynman cries out to his fellow scientists in “Our Responsibility as Scientists” not to repeat the past by living only for the present. He explains that the duty of scientists is to fix the problems of today and begin to fix the problems of tomorrow. ”Our Responsibility is to do what we can, learn what we can, improve solutions and pass them on” (71). He wants them to understand that their work will never end and that they will never have the last answer, and if they believe they have the “answer” and are truly mistaken. It is also emphasized that doubt have much value, this action of doubting will insure the creation of more question leading to more answer and further progression as a whole.
The first audience he actually addresses are the nay sayers. The ones who believe scientists don’t do enough for “us”. He counters this argument by saying “we don’t have any magical formula for solving problems, that social problems are very much harder than scientific ones”(64). Quite frankly societal problems should be a social/community effort and not just tossed onto the shoulders of scientists to figure out. “To every man is given the key to the gates of heaven; the same key opens he gates of hell.”(64) This quote isn’t just for men of science it states “to ever man” not only scientists, or politicians, or religious figures, every man woman and child that draws breath on this planet has the ability and responsibility to try to sold any and all social problems not just had it over to the next guy.
In “The grand Adventure” he begins to address artists whether they be painters, comedians, or musicians. These people are often swayed by beauty so he asks why? Why are they not inspired by the beauty of science the wonders of the nature of life the awe of the universe that he feels? Why must the expression of science simply be limited to lectures? He shares how he views science and it beauty “With more knowledge comes deeper, more wonderful mystery, luring one on to penetrate deeper still. Never concerned that the answer may prove disappointing, but with pleasure and confidence we turn over each new stone to find unimagined strangeness leading on to more wonderful questions and mysteries”(66) Artists have been important at every point in time be it past or present, art if varying kinds has always been a vital artery in the body of society. They brush shoulders with thousands of human beings at any given second. They help people form ideas feelings and thoughts on many subjects in life so if just once they could sing, writ, pain etc. about science so many minds would be reached and thus there heats touched.
Unlike “The Remarkable Idea”, “Education, for Good and Evil” is specifically pointed at each individual reader the reason being that the idea of Good or Evil is subjective. Feynman says “In peace, man can develop best the enormous possibilities he seem to have. But maybe future men will find that peace, too, can be good and bad”(69). Even peace and scientific advancements can be subjective in the sense of good or bad. Here as the people of the “future” we can look at what they saw as peace and see it as a great calamity. In this quote we can speculate about its “hidden” tones in relation to WW2 and how the atomic bomb was thought of as the only way of achieving peace but the minds of today think otherwise.
“The Remarkable Idea” is not necessarily aimed at children or