SCIENTIFIC SOCIETIES
At the present time, when the elements of time and distance are
practically eliminated in the propagation of news, and when cheap
printing has minimized the difficulties of publishing scientific
discoveries, it is difficult to understand the isolated position
of the scientific investigation of the ages that preceded steam
and electricity. Shut off from the world and co 19419b120t mpletely out of
touch with fellow-laborers perhaps only a few miles away, the
investigators were naturally seriously handicapped; and
inventions and discoveries were not made with the same rapidity
that they would undoubtedly have been had the same men been
receiving daily, weekly, or monthly communications from
fellow-laborers all over the world, as they do to-day. Neither
did they have the advantage of public or semi-public
laboratories, where they were brought into contact with other
men, from whom to gather fresh trains of thought and receive the
stimulus of their successes or failures. In the natural course of
events, however, neighbors who were interested in somewhat
similar pursuits, not of the character of the rivalry of trade or
commerce, would meet more or less frequently and discuss their
progress. The mutual advantages of such intercourse would be at
once appreciated; and it would be but a short step from the
casual meeting of two neighborly scientists to the establishment
of "societies," meeting at fixed times, and composed of members
living within reasonable travelling distance. There would,
perhaps, be the weekly or monthly meetings of men in a limited
area; and as the natural outgrowth of these little local
societies, with frequent meetings, would come the formation of
larger societies, meeting less often, where members travelled a
considerable distance to attend. And, finally, with increased
facilities for communication and travel, the great international
societies of to-day would be produced--the natural outcome of the
neighborly meetings of the primitive mediaeval investigators.
In Italy, at about the time of Galileo, several small societies
were formed. One of the most important of these was the Lyncean
Society, founded about the year 1611, Galileo himself being a
member. This society was succeeded by the Accademia del Cimento,
at Florence, in 1657, which for a time flourished, with such a
famous scientist as Torricelli as one of its members.
In England an impetus seems to have been given by Sir Francis
Bacon's writings in criticism and censure of the systern of
teaching in colleges. It is supposed that his suggestions as to
what should be the aims of a scientific society led eventually to
the establishment of the Royal Society. He pointed out how little
had really been accomplished by the existing institutions of
learning in advancing science, and asserted that little good
could ever come from them while their methods of teaching
remained unchanged. He contended that the system which made the
lectures and exercises of such a nature that no deviation from
the established routine could be thought of was pernicious. But
he showed that if any teacher had the temerity to turn from the
traditional paths, the daring pioneer was likely to find
insurmountable obstacles placed in the way of his advancement.
The studies were "imprisoned" within the limits of a certain set
of authors, and originality in thought or teaching was to be
neither contemplated nor tolerated.
The words of Bacon, given in strong and unsparing terms of
censure and condemnation, but nevertheless with perfect
justification, soon bore fruit. As early as the year 1645 a small
company of scientists had been in the habit of meeting at some
place in London to discuss philosophical and scientific subjects
for mental advancement. In 1648, owing to the political
disturbances of the time, some of the members of these meetings
removed to Oxford, among them Boyle, Wallis, and Wren, where the
meetings were continued, as were also the meetings of those left
in London. In 1662, however, when the political situation bad
become more settled, these two bodies of men were united under a
charter from Charles II., and Bacon's ideas were practically
expressed in that learned body, the Royal Society of London. And
it matters little that in some respects Bacon's views were not
followed in the practical workings of the society, or that the
division of labor in the early stages was somewhat different than
at present. The aim of the society has always been one for the
advancement of learning; and if Bacon himself could look over its
records, he would surely have little fault to find with the aid
it has given in carrying out his ideas for the promulgation of
useful knowledge.
Ten years after the charter was granted to the Royal Society of
the result that the Academia Naturae Curiosorum was founded,
under the leadership of Professor J. C. Sturm. The early labors
of this society were devoted to a repetition of the most notable
experiments of the time, and the work of the embryo society was
published in two volumes, in 1672 and 1685 respectively, which
were practically text-books of the physics of the period. It was
not until 1700 that Frederick I. founded the Royal Academy of
Sciences at Berlin, after the elaborate plan of Leibnitz, who was
himself the first president.
Perhaps the nearest realization of Bacon's ideal, however, is in
the Royal Academy of Sciences at Paris, which was founded in 1666
under the administration of Colbert, during the reign of Louis
XIV. This institution not only recognized independent members,
but had besides twenty pensionnaires who received salaries from
the government. In this way a select body of scientists were
enabled to pursue their investigations without being obliged to
"give thought to the morrow" for their sustenance. In return they
were to furnish the meetings with scientific memoirs, and once a
year give an account of the work they were engaged upon. Thus a
certain number of the brightest minds were encouraged to devote
their entire time to scientific research, "delivered alike from
the temptations of wealth or the embarrassments of poverty." That
such a plan works well is amply attested by the results emanating
from the French academy. Pensionnaires in various branches of
science, however, either paid by the state or by learned
societies, are no longer confined to France.
Among the other early scientific societies was the Imperial
Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburg, projected by Peter the
Great, and established by his widow, Catharine I., in 1725; and
also the Royal Swedish Academy, incorporated in 1781, and
counting among its early members such men as the celebrated
Linnaeus. But after the first impulse had resulted in a few
learned societies, their manifest advantage was so evident that
additional numbers increased rapidly, until at present almost
every branch of every science is represented by more or less
important bodies; and these are, individually and collectively,
adding to knowledge and stimulating interest in the many fields
of science, thus vindicating Lord Bacon's asseverations that
knowledge could be satisfactorily promulgated in this manner.
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