Abstract
Annual Meeting THE anniversary meeting of the Royal Society was held, as customary, on November 30, and the president, Sir Robert Robinson, delivered his presidential address, a main part of which is printed on p. 815 of this issue, and also presented the medals for 1946 (see p. 841). In addition, he made some brief comments on the relationship of scientific men to world affairs. He welcomed Sir Henry Dale's plea last year for the general release of scientific knowledge. Speaking of the danger to scientific ideals and integrity in the conception of total war, he pointed out that men of science are faced with a dilemma a conflict between their ideals of service to humanity and their duty as citizens of a democratic community which can only be resolved by the establishment of real friendship and concord among the nations of the world. Speaking for himself, he said that all men of science should strive for the promotion of international peace and the outlawry of all methods of warfare which by their nature involve total war. The existence of the universal brotherhood of scientific workers shows that this hope is not impractical idealism. Nevertheless, in this connexion there can be no clear-cut distinction between peace and war, and a nation's defences must be prepared at all times against attack. Sir Robert continued, βit is inconsistent to praise our scientists for their outstanding contributions to the war effort and at the same time to suggest that they offend against our ethical code if they serve the country in a similar fashion during an uneasy peace. It is useless to attempt to disguise the fact that such service implies some sacrifice of freedom. During the War the scientific effort was nation-wide and control extended to many university departments. Nevertheless, the universities have preserved intact their precious liberty of action, and I see no signs of any attempt to curtail it. Surely this suggests a feasible line of demarcation in that extra-mural contracts, placed by Service departments with the universities, need not, and should not, contain any clauses restricting free publication of the results. Although it has sometimes been irksome, the refusal of many universities to accept theses that cannot be published is a step in the right direction.β
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Royal Society. Nature 158, 825 (1946). https://doi.org/10.1038/158825a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/158825a0