Role to the Whole Society - Term Paper Example

ROLE OF SCIENCE IN SOCIETY By Role to the Whole Society Science has been the center of life as asserted by the authors of the case. It generates a connection between different aspects and harmonizes them to make them useful and relevant to the society. This is because man is able to just live on moments he can calculate but is not sure about the future. Science ensures that the future is anticipated. In a basic sense, science has acquainted man with a connection to the outside world, made him creative enough to interrogate nature and modify things that surround him (Open University, 2004, p. 40). Chemistry denotes that the world is connected from the past to the future through an analogy. It has revealed the secrets of nature to a large extent and differentiated the relationship between the different happenings and the ability of the human mind. Discovery of chemicals, the trial to transform them into gold over the years have given the society a definite meaning of the contents of the environment (Open University, 2004, p. 49). Science has not been left out in the field of agriculture. To the farmers and land owners and the society at large, it has been able to increase the aspect of food production. It also relieved rural distress by providing practical tips to the poor since the knowledge they received increased their productivity hence self-reliance. When the first professor of chemistry Thomas Garnet helped, through chemistry discover the aspect of dyes, bleaching and printing, the rural people were encouraged to use these as service provision ways that could see them depend on themselves. From the book, we see the strength of agriculture presented directly; “agriculture, to which we owe our means of subsistence is an art intimately connected with chemical science. For though the soil of the earth may produce vegetable food, yet it can only be made to produce it in the greatest quantity...quality and the methods of cultivation dependent on scientific principles” (Open University, 2004, p. 151). Different aspects of life and works have also benefitted by science, for instance, the tanners as professionals in that field went on to discover the need to develop complex ways of dealing with their wares. They made oak trees more reliable sources of tannin but other experiments as was done by Sir Joseph Banks to look for other substitutes for tannin apart from the oak tree. In essence, the entire tanning industry was highly improved and made more productive courtesy of science. The entire issue was that he was trying to link science to the service of the state. The entire state society benefits from this issue and ends up being more productive than before. Davy gave more lectures on tanning hence increasing the knowledge of the different professionals who attended these. By introducing an introductory audience in 1802, the knowledge was far much spread to the society of chemists who developed different more important ideas about the same product. What was realized was the increased production in the products associated with tanning. “The modes of impregnating skin with the tanning principle of the vegetable kingdom, so as to render it strong and insoluble in water has been reduced to scientific principles” (Open University, 2004, p. 152). Every aspect depends on each other and an increase in one aspect leads to an increase in the other. Science had stimulated the minds of the entire production society in this industry. The mental faculties were created and the aesthetic sensibilities increased in the designers at all levels of production. If the dyes were fading fast in the earlier aspect as was mentioned, science benefitted the rural society by researching in better ways of making them stick and last faster. Davy therefore presents chemistry to the society as an improving aspect and will be able to improve every aspect as it occurs (Open University, 2004, p. 32). Mrs. Marcet’s conversations on chemistry bring out a strong relevance to what the society requires of science and what has already been done. She presents an aspect of vaccination and health. This is no different from what Davy had presented in the agricultural sector. Her husband who introduced her to the aspect of the chemical world is noted to have taken part in creation of a vaccination for small pox. This was both for social and commercial reasons but was fast to re-iterate the importance of science and science practitioners on health. She introduces the aspect of the society of women in the science and discovery world. Her work incorporates a high sense of discoveries on chemistry in which there is involvement of experiments that support the works done earlier as well as the lectures of Davy. In this regard, she promotes the aspect of chemistry to the society and to the individuals that were able to attend to her knowledge later on. This is a shared knowledge that benefits the whole society. She presents two girls that are able to present their ideas about science but the ultimate idea is that the knowledge is used by later generations and societies to develop themselves into able and skillful scientists. She presents an integration of chemistry and the society through”…producing conversations on natural philosophy, mineralogy, land, water and botany…” (Open University, 2004, p. 62). Science to the society therefore as presented by Davy and Marcet is clearly basic. From understanding of the environment to multiplication of food items for farmers in agriculture, it supports progress. To the business society, tanning was made more exploratory and expansive by a deep venture into the science of inventing other trees apart from the prestigious oak tree. Beneficiaries of Science in the Society The society has got individuals that directly benefits from the technological aspect of science. From what has been witnessed in the piece of work by Davy, most of the attendants to his lectures are people from a collection of backgrounds and they ranged to hundreds per single gathering. That indicates the importance of the meetings and science as a whole to them. The first beneficiary to this knowledge of science is the farmer. In Davy’s lectures, the issue of agricultural chemistry is presented. This presentation leads to the farmer benefitting in a collection of ways. In the lecture by Davy on importance of chemistry to agriculture, there is seen a collection of individuals from different professional backgrounds attending. Proprietors, managers and farmers were in attendance (Open University, 2004, p. 63). To deliver the best practical approach, he had gone ahead to ascertain the importance of experimenting before presenting. To the farmers, if the soil chemistry is sufficient for a given production, then there would be a high yield produced. Farmers must be aware that not all soils support the growth of all crops. The manure or the fertilizers used also determine the final yield of the crops realized. In the long run, the farmer is able to know that he can get the best harvest if he applies fertilizer alongside manure to support the nutrition of the crops. The entrepreneur himself is a person who purchases anything he sells at a lower price and sells it at a relatively higher price. In this regard, the entrepreneurs as business persons are able to understand that due to science, they can benefit from the economies of scale. This means that use of science to improve production by the farmer’s leads to an increased produce to them. By law of demand and supply, an increase in supply leads to more sales and hence a high market which creates the market economies. There is a chain of beneficiaries to science created at this point. The landlords may lease their lands to the farmer. The farmer produces more and then sells to the proprietor who makes it available to the market. The second category of beneficiaries is the industrialists and in the text, there is the example of tanners. This is directly related to the landowners again. The oak tree provided the chemical that was used to make skins more flexible in the rural industry. However, the tanner was not able to find enough oak to supply the tannin. Science enabled the tanner to, through the scientists get the required chemical that would serve the same purpose as the tannin from the oak tree. In fact, Davy developed a paper for the tanner on tanning that would be in use from over 50 years at the time being used during the tanning process. The doctor is the ultimate believer in science. Marcet presents initially her background in chemistry by elaborating on how she was introduced to the industry. Her husband was a practitioner in vaccination Matters where he was said to be among the people aiding in formation of the smallpox vaccination. Apart from demonstrating knowledge and the abilities to treat different diseases, there is always a science based approach to new issues by the doctor. Alexander Marcet, the husband to Mr. Marcet was very active in research that created several new spheres of knowledge. Apart from the doctor, the patient needs the science so that there is a new drug created to take care of the situation that he is in. without progressive scientific research, there would be no treatment of some of the diseases that make people ill or die (Open University, 2004, p. 64). Science is therefore, not only a section of the society but also a section of an individual. Individuals make a society and the society depends on science for trade, medicine, agricultural produce and in the professional sector, the chemical elites to discover new knowledge in the field for efficiency in the current life. Science is therefore the only way that the living man can be connected with the outside world as the text expresses at the beginning. References University, O. (2004). New Approaches to Science and Architecture . Milton Keynes : Open Open University. Read More