Science and Human Life – J. B. S. Haldane

Science and Human Life – J. B. S. Haldane

John Burdon Sanderson (J. B. S.) Haldane was a British, later Indian Scientist known for his works in the study of Physiology, Genetics and Evolutionary Biology. He established a unification of Mendel’s “Genetics” and Darwin’s “Theory of Evolution by Natural Selection”, whilst laying the groundwork for Modern Evolutionary Synthesis. In this present essay “Science and Human Life”, J. B. S. Haldane opposes superstitions and supports rational thinking.

Haldane says in his essay “Science and Human Life”, that Science affects average man in two ways and also being benefitted by its applications. He enjoys comfortable transport as he is driving in a motorcar or in an Omni bus instead of cumbersome horse-drawn vehicles and also being treated for diseases by a doctor or a surgeon instead of going to a priest or a witch. Secondly, Science affects common people’s opinion that everyone believes that earth is round and the heavens are nearly empty instead of their solid (physical) existence. 

According to Haldane, a few thousand men and a few dozen women who do research continuously to create science on which modern civilization rests which, evolves the ‘scientific point of view’ against a set of beliefs and accepted opinions that spreads gradually skepticism among humanity. This scientific point of view must come out of the laboratory and it is applied to the events of daily life for the betterment of civilization. He adds that it is foolish to think that the outlook of scientific point of view will prove useless when it is applied to the family, the nation or the human race, which has already developed agriculture, industry, war and medicine.

Haldane says that science attempts to be truthful and impartial. By comparing scientific point of view with legal point of view ⎯ he says that a judge may be impartial in giving his judgment between two individuals whereas a scientist is impartial between a human individual, a tapeworm and a solar system. Such an attitude leads the scientist to a curious mixture of pride and humanity. A scientist simply interprets the consequences of many actions instead of passing judgments.

According to Haldane’s opinion, the tendency of average man always dwells upon the emotional and ethical side of an issue rather than on facts. To prove this he mentioned the problem of American Negroes. Some Americans believe that Negroes are inferior to them so that they might have been segregated from them. On the other hand, some other Americans believe that they should enjoy equal rights like white Americans.  But, the scientist makes it clear that both groups: blacks and whites are comfortable only when they live in their respectable homelands.  If not, both of them may die of consumption whenever they step into each other’s environmental conditions.

Haldane remarks that our approach to the problem of disease in less rational way. He says that the pre-Christians believe that if someone was suffering from any disease, they decide it was a punishment from some deity or a sin either by the sick person or his family or of his whole community. But Haldane makes it clear that health and sickness are equal parts of the nature and also common for both civilized and savage. Haldane says that modern medicine has come out with miraculous drugs but it has become very hard to apply its results in practice. He said that injecting insulin could easily control the disease like diabetes but people hardly take doctors’ suggestion in taking the medicine. In case of contagious diseases like typhoid and cholera people always attempt to cure such diseases. But scientist attempts to prevent them instead of cure them.   

Finally, Haldane says that the average man and woman should not be guided by false principles. He concludes his essay saying that people must adopt scientific point of view to conquer ignorance and enemies of the science.

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