Van Helden Closes Scientia Lecture Series

Van Helden Closes Scientia Lecture Series
BY LIA UNRAU
Rice News Staff
April 23, 1998

Bringing the year’s Scientia lecture series to a close, historian Albert Van
Helden said that in a narrow sense, historians and philosophers of science cannot
bridge the gap between the two cultures, but in a broader sense there are ways
to mend the gap.

On April 14, Van Helden, the Lynette S. Autrey Professor of History and director
of the Center for the Study of Science and Technology at Rice, addressed the
question, "Can Historians and Philosophers of Science Bridge the ‘Two Cultures?’"
He said that when communication dialogue between the two cultures occurs, as
in interdivisional teaching, a bridge is formed.

Taken narrowly, the history and philosophy of science cannot provide a bridge
between the two worlds, Van Helden said. What the scientists want out of the
history of science is origin stories and historical examples of characteristics
and behaviors; what the historians of science want is a critical approach to
that science, asking questions obtained by current interest in humanity in general.

Van Helden asked: Given that scientists and humanists have different local
cultures and different professional interests, how do those two cultures carry
on a dialogue at this university? Informally, he said, one type of forum in
which they carry on dialogue is in places like the faculty club, the colleges
and Sammy’s.

"There’s really a role for the administration here to include spaces for
these kinds of regular exchanges, even in their architectural plans, and to
nurture them."

Another forum is through organizations like Scientia. Salomon Bochner founded
Scientia as an institute for the history of science and culture with a goal
of enhancing dialogue among the disciplines.

"I think that this year’s colloquium series has brought out both the desirability
and the need for dialogue," Van Helden said.

Education is another setting in which dialogue between the two cultures can
and must take place, he said.

When faculty members teach courses together, side by side in the classroom,
the dialogue between the two cultures happens invariably, he said.

"What happens in interdivisional teaching is that people find out how
the other side thinks, how they construct narratives," he explained.

"We want our students to be citizens who are capable of dealing with economic,
technical, political, ethical and moral problems that are reported in our newspapers
every day."

Teachers educate students by carrying on a challenging discussion in the classroom,
he said. "When we teach we really learn, and the same goes for our students.

"Any forum in which practitioners from one side of the campus explain
to those on the other side of campus what it is that they do and how they think,
that is good for the university. The faculty must take the lead in establishing
such forums, and administrators must make it clear that such efforts are valued."

Van Helden’s lecture was the last in a yearlong series in memoriam of Thomas
Kuhn and his book, "The Structure of Scientific Revolution."

For related information visit the following Web site:
Scientia: http://www.ruf.rice.edu/~scientia/