Introduction

In 2003, philosopher Joseph Agassi perceived popular science as: ‘vital for culture at large. . . to widen horizons and rationalize life. . . to break the isolation of science from rest of culture’. ¹ But his optimism did not hide his concern about the role of science in our contemporary societies and the need to reassess its position. Despite many efforts in favour of its effective dissemination and its growing influence on major political and economic decisions, for many privileged observers, science would have been relegated, especially in the second half of the twentieth century, to a certain marginalisation and isolation in relation to ‘culture’. In his famous book, Das Unbehagen in der Kultur (1930) – translated into English as Civilization and Its Discontents – Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) believed that modern science had failed to make the Enlightenment dream come true; a dream where the progress of natural philosophy had to yield to the progress of moral philosophy. Most scientific advances have only apparently affected human happiness. Once the euphoria of novelty had worn off, an inevitable hidden face would always appear. In Freud’s own words:

In the last generations, man has made extraordinary strides in knowledge of the natural sciences and technical application of them, and has established his dominion over nature in a way never before imagined. . . But men are beginning to perceive that all this newly-won power over space and time, this conquest of the forces of nature, this fulfilment of age-old longings, has not increased the amount of pleasure they can obtain in life, has not made them feel any happier. The valid conclusion from this is merely that power over nature is not the only condition of human happiness, just as it is not the only goal of civilization’s efforts. . . If there were no railway to make light of distances, my child would never have left home, and I should not need the telephone to hear his voice. . . What is the use of reducing the mortality of children, when it is precisely this reduction which imposes the greatest moderation on us in begetting them. . . And what do we gain by a long life when it is full of hardship and starved of joys and so wretched that we can only welcome death as our deliverer? ²