Wk 4 -Science
the Endless Frontier
Science
The Endless Frontier: A Report to the President by Vannevar Bush, Director
of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, July, 1945, (SEF)is a pivotal
document in the history of science. Although not the first document to argue for
the importance of science in modern society it quickly became the key document
for post war science planning and the blueprint for modern science policy. Written
at the end of WW II, it sough to map out the way in which the mobilization of
science for war could be transformed into moblization for peaceful purposes.
While the basic message
of SEF is well known and widely cited, the full report itself is seldom read
carefully or understood as a historical piece, written at a particular time
and for specific purposes.
The assignment for this
week is to read the introductory material, Part 1, and one other Part (Parts
2-8) of SEF and come to class prepared to discussion the following questions:
- how does SEF reflect
the particular social and economic conditions that existed at the end of WW
II?
- who will benefit most
from the suggestions set out in SEF?
- do the suggestions in
SEF pose any problems and are there areas of concern that you think should
have been addressed at the time but were not?
You should have specific
passages and arguments in mind to support your conclusions and arguments.
Bush's view was not shared
by everyone. In his Farewell
Address to the Nation in 1961, President Dwight D. Eisenhower presented
a different view of the future in relation to science and technology. Be prepared
as well to contrast the views of Eisenhower with those of Bush.