.
Three lectures given in April 1963 by Richard P. Feynman, as invited speaker, at the University of Washington (Seattle),
as part of the John Danz Lecture series.
In the first one he talks about the nature of science and emphasized particularly the existence and importance of doubt and uncertainty. Three aspects of science are discussed: i)applications of science – power to do new things; ii)contents of science – the things that have been found out; iii)method of finding things out – based on the principle that the observation is the judge of whether something is so or not. Final conclusion: The freedom to doubt is an important matter in the sciences and in other fields.
In the second lecture Feynman discusses the impact of scientific views on religious and political questions. He analyzes the relation and a conflict between science and religion. He presents his position that there is a kind of independence between the ethical and moral views and the theory of the machinery of the universe. He discusses a problem - the right of freedom to look for solutions. His conclusion: No government has the right to decide on the truth of scientific principles, nor to prescribe in any way the character of questions investigated. Neither may a government determine the aesthetic value of artistic creations, nor limit the forms of literary or artistic expressions. Nor should it pronounce on the validity of economic, historic, religious, or philosophical doctrines.
In the third lecture Feynman describes how society looks to him, to a scientific man. He examines from this point of view various things, which seem to be completely different, but in his discussion they reveal certain common aspects; for example: mental telepathy, flying saucers, miracle healing, statistical sampling, Altadena Americanism Center activity profile, nuclear weapon testing, space program, English language spelling and encyclical of Pope John XXIII.
Published: August 08, 2007
More summaries by BBbb77
More