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George Gore
The Scientific Basis of National Progress, Including that of Morality
Published by Good Press, 2019
EAN 4064066142681
Table of Contents
The Scientific Basis of National Progress.
The Scientific Basis of Material Progress.
The Scientific Basis of Mental and Moral Progress. [12]
New Truth, and its General Relation to Human Progress.
The Promotion of Scientific Research.
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| Preface. | |
| CHAPTER I. | |
| PAGE | |
| The Scientific Basis of Material Progress | 1 |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| The Scientific Basis of Mental and Moral Progress | 83 |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| New Truth, and its general relation to Human Progress | 157 |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| The Promotion of Original Scientific Research | 170 |
The Scientific Basis of National Progress.
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NEW KNOWLEDGE IMPARTS NEW POWER.
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PREFACE.
As there exists at the present time in this country a considerable degree of uneasiness in the public mind respecting our ability to maintain our position in the race of progress, and as our future success as a nation depends largely upon science, it is desirable to call attention to the great public importance of new scientific knowledge, and to the means of promoting its development.
Although the illustrations given in this book of the importance of such knowledge to mankind, constitute but a small fraction of the number which might be adduced, they are sufficient to show that by the neglect of scientific investigation, we are sacrificing our welfare as a nation to an enormous extent.
The greatest obstacle to the discovery of new knowledge in this country, lies in a wide spread ignorance of the dependence of human welfare upon scientific research. I propose therefore to show in a brief manner, that the essential starting-point of human progress, lies in scientific discovery; also that new truths are evolved by original research made in accordance with scientific methods; and to illustrate these statements by examples; also to point out how such research can be encouraged.
The book is divided into four chapters, viz.: 1st. The Scientific basis of Material progress: 2nd. The Scientific basis of Mental and Moral progress: 3rd. New truth and its relation to Human progress: and 4th. The Promotion of original Scientific Research. As the object of the book is only to call attention to the vast importance of new truth, as as a fundamental source of advance, and how to promote the discovery of it, the essay is written as briefly as possible, and is not offered in any sense as a complete exposition of the subject, especially the section relating to the Scientific basis of Morality.
The leading idea of the Book is that present knowledge only enables us to maintain our present state, that national progress is the result of new ideas, and that the chief source of new ideas is original research.[1] That as advance has its origin in new knowledge; unless new discoveries are made, new inventions and improvements must sooner or later cease. Another prominent idea is, that truth is essentially the same in all divisions of knowledge, and that the mental powers and processes employed in detecting it are the same in all subjects.
For reasons