ABSTRACT
Science is so important, and expensive, that the major policy decisions concerning its development are increasingly being taken by the State, rather than being left to the judgement of the scientists and their private patrons. Since natural science depends on the general public for its support, in this period as never before, the public understanding of science is crucial, in the long run, for the continued health of the community of science. The ‘warfare’ to which Pearson referred was documented by other writers of his time; and those who had fought for science were not necessarily anti-philosophical or irreligious. The obsolescence of the conception of science as the pursuit of truth results from several changes in the social activity of science. First, the heavy warfare with ‘theology and metaphysics’ is over. Although a few sharp skirmishes still occur, the attacks on the freedom of science from this quarter are no longer significant.
