Science and the State: From the Scientific Revolution to World War II

Description

Was it coincidence that the modern state and modern science arose at the same time? This overview of the relations of science and state from the Scientific Revolution to World War II explores this issue, synthesising a range of approaches from history and political theory. John Gascoigne argues the case for an ongoing mutual dependence of the state and science in ways which have promoted the consolidation of both. Drawing on a wide body of scholarship, he shows how the changing functions of the state have brought a wider engagement with science, while the possibilities that science make available have increased the authority of the state along with its prowess in war. At the end of World War II, the alliance between science and state was securely established and, Gascoigne argues, is still firmly embodied in the post-war world.

John Gascoigne, Emeritus Professor, taught history at the University of New South Wales from 1980 until 2016. His previous books include Encountering the Pacific in the Age of the Enlightenment (Cambridge, 2014), which won the NSW Premier's General History Prize in 2014, and Science in the Service of Empire: Joseph Banks, the British State and the Uses of Science in the Age of Revolution (Cambridge, 1998).

'At last, a comprehensive and eminently readable survey that charts the intricate bond between science and government over the past five hundred years. Gascoigne establishes that the ascent of 'modern' science was entwined with the concurrent rise of the modern state. The consequences of which helped shape both domains - as well as the modern world.' Mordechai Feingold, California Institute of Technology 'Changes in the nature of the state from the seventeenth century to the World War II make the history of the relations between science and the state a complex matter. Gascoigne is to be congratulated on having produced a clear and immensely helpful account of these relations.' Stephen Gaukroger, University of Sydney '... Gascoigne's study does a valuable service by offering a concise, readable survey of a complex topic. Like any good survey, it sums up while also pointing the way forward, suggesting the need for more comparative work on science and the state across different eras and countries.' Tricia M. Ross, Metascience 'Not only will students and the general reader profit from Gascoigne's thoughtful and readable introductory study on science-state relations; so too will professional historians of science. I strongly recommend it to all.' David Cahan, Isis