Science
In 1959, C. P. Snow published a book with the title The Two Cultures. In it he observed that intellectuals fall into two groups: On the one side the humanities, on the other side the (natural) sciences. In the 1930s academics from the humanities camp had begun to label themselves “intellectuals”, implying that academics from the other camp were not really intellectuals. This usage of the term excluded scientists like the astronomer Edwin Hubble, the mathematician John von Neumann, the cyberneticist Norbert Wiener, or the physicists Albert Einstein, Niels Bohr and Werner Heisenberg. In the second edition of The Two Cultures, Snow added a new essay, The Two Cultures: A Second Look, in which he optimistically predicted that a new intellectual culture – a “Third Culture” – would emerge and that a productive dialogue would bridge the gulf between the humanities and the sciences. Unfortunately, this ideal never came fully to fruition. Scientists, instead of collaborating with the humanities academics, began to communicate directly with the wider public.
Whereas academics from the humanities camp traditionally communicated to the broad public via journalists, today’s Third Culture tends to forego the journalistic detour and tries to express its thoughts in such a way that an educated audience can understand them directly. Simplifying, publishing and communicating ideas are nowadays essential tasks of an intellectual. Knowledge shouldn’t merely be accumulated, new ideas should also shape and enrich the thinking of society as a whole. The success of popular science books in the last years has surprised intellectuals of the old school. They believe that such books constitute an anomaly – the books may sell well, but they lack cultural impact and are not widely read. But they are mistaken. The rise of an active Third Culture shows that there is a great deal of interest in discussing philosophical, scientific and pioneering ideas. In the following books and videos some of the most renowned scientists and philosophers present crucial considerations and arguments of this kind.
Books
Videos
- Peter Singer: The why and how of effective altruism
- Richard Dawkins: Why evolution?
- Daniel Kahneman: Thinking fast and slow
- Joshua Greene: Moral tribes
- Julia Galef: Rationality and the future
- Nick Bostrom: Superintelligence
- Peter Singer & Richard Dawkins: Animal rights and vegetarianism
- Julian Savulescu: Pills that improve morality
- Esther Duflo: Social experiments to fight poverty
- Richard Dawkins: The god delusion
- Steven Pinker: Human nature and the blank slate
- Daniel Dennett: Darwin’s dangerous idea
- Molly Crockett: Drugs and morals
- Cass Sunstein: Nudge
- Thomas Metzinger: The transparent avatar in your brain
- Steven Pinker: The history of violence
Peter Singer: The why and how of effective altruism
Richard Dawkins: Why evolution?
Daniel Kahneman: Thinking fast and slow
Joshua Greene: Moral tribes
Julia Galef: Rationality and the future
Nick Bostrom: Superintelligence
Peter Singer & Richard Dawkins: Animal rights and vegetarianism
Julian Savulescu: Pills that improve morality
Esther Duflo: Social experiments to fight poverty
Richard Dawkins: The god delusion
Steven Pinker: Human nature and the blank slate
Daniel Dennett: Darwin’s dangerous idea
Molly Crockett: Drugs and morals
Cass Sunstein: Nudge
Thomas Metzinger: The transparent avatar in your brain
Steven Pinker: The history of violence