Essay on “Science and Modern Culture” Complete Essay for Class 9, Class 10, Class 12 and Graduation and other classes.

Science and Modern Culture

Essay No.01

The outlook of culture has greatly widened with the development of science and technology. International mass communications have broken down the frontiers of narrow traditions of culture. They are helping now in bringing about an international modern culture in which man is giving up not only the tribal, local, racial and communal culture but adopting national and international culture. It is a very healthy development. The barriers of man-made borders of States and nations are fast becoming insignificant in respect of the lifestyles and day-today occupations. A common code of living among nations is developing very fast. The cable-T.V. culture is contributing enormously towards this end. Gone are the days when there used to be local traditions and habits which were considered the uppermost. The modern life especially in urban areas in almost all the countries of the world are developing a common attitude in lifestyle, manners, education and thought. The people belonging to different countries and backgrounds are seen working in a common environment of work and lifestyle. There are common attitudes in learning, education and training seen in almost all the countries of the world. The reputed educational and technical institutions around the globe invite students from all countries and cultures in a single class-room to train them for work wherever they are able to fit themselves. An attitude of international character and belongingness is seen developing very fast. The multinational companies having their corporate offices and places of work and production in all the big cities of the world are employing professionals and sending them throughout the globe for boosting their sales and discovering the new markets for their products. The local arts of a particular area and country, which are the most important ingredients of culture, are feeling the impact of science and technology and becoming rapidly universalized. Thus, the interaction of various cultures is going on speedily with the help of fast communications and media which the modern technology is providing. Thus the arts and crafts of a particular area have been able to make enormous expansions and the artisans attached with them have invited attention of people far and wide, who happen to take interest in the particular art or craft outside the limits of that particular area or country. This trend is producing some international tastes, successfully intermingling the popular ethos of all cultures. For example, the old Indian crafts. Which used to be confined to only certain pockets of their existence, since time immemorial have crossed the limits of borders and gone into the drawing and living rooms of houses in U.S. and other European countries. In the present world, no culture can be called exclusive. The impact of the science and technology is easily traceable in every culture except for the extremely backward areas in Africa or Asia where remote tribes may still be existing and in the absence of educational facilities and modern awakening preserve their culture in its puritan from.

We are deep in the midstream of a scientific age and the scientific revolution is taking place very fast. Science and technology are increasing the wealth and power of man, his comforts and material enjoyment. In certain fast moving societies, there are bound to rise certain tensions and conflicts. In such societies, it is desirable that the desire for power and enjoyment be tempered by a thirst for more and more wealth and enjoyment. The old moral values which used to be the most-valued treasure of our forefathers and naturally predominant in traditional culture, seem to dwindle from the modern societies of the world giving place to changed cultural values which suit the present life-style and environment. Thus the modern scientific age has ushered in a number of new values along with an invincible optimism in attacking human problems, a rationalization of effort so as to obtain maximum efficiency in education, technology and business and also a sense of sharing in the common tasks of mankind, in relieving human want and suffering and feeling of brotherhood of man. These are the values that have became a part of traditions of the multinational industrialized society and can, therefore, be called elements of true culture. The growing relation between science and culture has brought forth what may be termed as scientific culture. Between science and culture there are common attitudes, common standards and patterns of behaviour, common approaches and common assumptions. Modern science was born as a reaction against the dogmatism of the middle ages. It first invented the scientific methods of research. Then it applied these methods to the phenomena of nature. Consequently science achieved wonderful results; the railway train, the telephone, the telegraph, the motor car, the cinema, the radio and the aeroplane, etc., which are the great achievements of science. Most of them are very useful as they were introduced into use. The scientists were greatly elated by these. Naturally, they thought that the knowledge of science was far superior to the knowledge of religion and morality. In their enthusiasm they forgot morality together. As a matter of fact, they defined the scientific temper in such terms as rendered the morality irrelevant. They maintained that the business of the scientist was to deal with only what is and what can be and not what “ought to be”. Thus it was very natural that they shall go on with the experiments in the name of truth without thinking of the consequence of their work. As such the modern culture, or the scientific culture took shape in the changed circumstances. The old order of old cultural values and morality was almost lost under the shine and sheen of modern scientific culture. However, science and technology stand for rationalization of man’s activities. Progress in science and technology is based on essential unalterable facts. Whatever is true on the face of it is the truth. Sentiment alone has no place in scientific thinking. Even institution, which plays a great role in the formulation of scientific theory, is not easily accepted unless it can be proved and justified in some way or the other. Scientific work demands a certain region in thinking, a respect for objectivity in the valuation of facts. It  trains the mind to make a clear, dispassionate and objective assessment of events and situations. That is way the modern a  scientific culture does not approve the assertions of assertions of a poet or a philosopher as long as it is subjective in character. The deep thoughts on subjects vague and imaginary do not appeal the modern man any longer. It is only the solid facts which actually benefit the man which are appealing to modern thought. Thus religion and morality which used to be the highest appealing philosophy of man in the olden times are now going to the back-ground and a changed attitude of living and thought is coming over-board.

Science has been defined as a body of systemized knowledge as an object of study. It covers generally truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific methods. Culture is the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties, especially be education. The culture of a society or nation is deeply embedded in the thought of man belonging to that culture and it goes on adopting the fresh attitudes of life and thought which the changing society provides for her. It also retains some essentials of old values which do not die with the changing environment. There is always a tussle between the old and the new and as such culture accepts changes with time and goes on adapting with the new impacts of society. Thus the modern times have been heavily influenced by the inventions of science and technology which have been proving so beneficial to man that it has changed his life totally. Never was the old culture and traditions, attacked in such a way that it has been in the modern times. The change in cultural values used to be a very slow process and went very smoothly with the changing generations, in a way that the change was not even felt hard, but the change that the science and technological developments have made in the modern cultural values is a revolution which is felt by all in a big way, so much so, that there is a big generation gap between the thoughts of youths and olds of  today. The elderly try to stick to some old cultural values although “g heavily benefited by the developments around, the youth are a completely changed mind, completely absorbed in the modern standards of life and scientific culture. And the development is astonishing in this respect that the change is uniform in all the developing as well as the developed countries of the world. It is simultaneous adoption of a common culture without consideration of different backgrounds of people with their varied cultural bases of civilization which has propped different peoples of the world.

In spite of the development discussed above, which seems quite healthy on the face of it, it is still desirable that the essentials of traditional culture need to be preserved the essentials of traditional culture need to be preserved and pampered in the thoughts of modern men and women as it is a general feeling that the modern scientific culture has deprived man of an essential requirement, that is, the peace of mind and ultimately we need to console ourselves with some peace, despite all the worldly desires having fulfilled. As such, some values, predominant in traditional culture, need to be retained so that they can help the culture to transform into a powerful instrument of true human progress and happiness.

Essay No. 02

Science and Culture

This is an era of science. There is hardly any domain where science and technology do not play an important part. Whether it is on the food front or defence, in the matter of clothing or comfort, in the enjoyment of leisure or pastime, modern science and technology contribute to make man’s life more effective, fast and pleasant. Science has also entered into the world of art.

Science has been defined as a body of systematised knowledge as an object of study. It covers generally truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific methods. Culture is the act of developing the intellectual and moral faculties, especially by education. It brings enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by ascetic training. Culture, when applied to society, implies the behaviour typical of a group of a class.

Modern science was born as a reaction against the dogmatism of the Middle ages. It first invented the scientific methods of research. Then, it applied these methods to the phenomena of nature. Consequently, science achieved wonderful results; the railway train, the telephone, the telegraph, the motor car, the cinema, the radio and the aeroplane etc., are the great achievements of modern science. Most of them were very useful as they were introduced into use. The scientists were greatly elated by these. Naturally, they thought that the knowledge of science was far superior to the knowledge of religion and morality. In their enthusiasm they forgot morality altogether. As a matter of fact, they defined the scientific temper in such terms as rendered the morality irrelevant. They maintained that the business of the scientist is to deal with only what is and what can be and not what “ought to be”. Thus, it was very natural that they should go on with the experiments in the name of truth without thinking of the consequence of their work.

 However, science and technology stand for rationalisation of man’s activities. Progress in science and technology is based on essential unalterable facts. Sentiment alone has no place in scientific thinking. Even institution, which plays a great role in the formulation of scientific theory, is not easily accepted unless it can be proved and justified in some way or the other. Scientific work demands a certain rigour in thinking, a respect for objectivity in the evaluation of facts. It trains the mind to make a clear, dispassionate and objective assessment of events and situations.

Thus, the scientific age has ushered in a number of new values and invincible optimism in attacking human problems, a rationalisation of effort so as to obtain maximum efficiency, sense of sharing in the common tasks of mankind, in relieving human want and suffering and feeling of the brotherhood of man. These are all values that have become a part of traditions of an industrialised society and can, therefore, be called elements of true culture.

The growing relation between science and culture has brought forth what may be termed as scientific culture. Between science and culture there are common attitudes, common standard and patterns of behaviour, common approaches and common assumptions.

The irony of the present situation is that the protagonists of the two cultures—literary culture and scientific culture—have ceased to speak to each other in any effective way. Literary men like to pretend that the traditional culture is the whole of culture, as though the exploration of the natural order and science were of no interest either in their own value or in its consequences. They think as if scientific edifice of physical world in its intellectual depth, complexity and articulation, is the most beautiful and wonderful collective work of the mind of the man. On the other hand, many scientists have no use for the whole literature of traditional culture. It seems to them totally irrelevant to the real needs of man.

 Let us also consider the way in which science has contributed to the development of modern culture. Modern scientific innovations like the loudspeaker, the radio, the television and the rest have come handy to the literature through which the artist, the writer, the actor and the other men of culture, appear before the common man and bring him into contact with the great tradition of culture and art. Science has opened the floodgates of art and civilisation to the multitudes and enabled them to develop their culture. The United Nations has established as one of its important wings called the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) realising the important role that science plays in the field of education and culture. Gone are the days when culture and refinement were monopoly of the few, privileged with money and power, luxury and leisure. Culture is now the property of the masses all over the world and this boon has become possible only with the aid of science. Science has diversified and decentralised culture and made it the common media of international understanding.

The outlook of culture has greatly widened with the development of science and technology. International mass communications have broken down the frontier of narrow traditions of culture. They are helping in bringing about an international culture in which man is gradually giving up not only the tribal, local, racial and communal culture but adopting national and international culture. Arts, which are one of the most important ingredients of culture, are feeling the impact of science and becoming rapidly universalised. The interaction of various cultures is going on speedily with the help of international communications like radio and television, aeroplane and the spacecrafts, computers and films. It is producing international tastes, successfully intermingling the popular ethos of all cultures. In the present world, no culture can be called exclusive. The impact of the science and technology is easily traceable in every culture except for the extremely backward areas in Africa or Asia where remote tribes may still be existing and preserving their culture in its puritan form.

We are deep in the midstream of a scientific age and the scientific revolution is taking place very fast. Science and technology are increasing the wealth and power of man, his comforts and material enjoyment. In certain fast-moving societies, there are bound to rise certain tensions and conflicts. In such societies, it is desirable that the desire for power and enjoyment be tempered by a thirst for beauty and moral greatness. These values, so predominant in traditional culture, need to be retained so that they can help the culture to transform into a powerful instrument of true human progress and happiness.