La querelle delle culture

Abstract

The relationship between sciences and humanities remains ambiguous. Scientists boast their successes and the beauty of their theories; they blame the lack of interest of humanists, who, on the other hand, see their branches of learning reduced and launch campaigns to avoid other cuts. The dispute began with a pamphlet of Charles P. Snow, that contrasted the two cultures and accused humanists of indifference to the benefits due to the application of the scientific discoveries to industry. The biggest cause of this opposition is the specialism, that comes from the increasing number of scholars with the need to produce a high number of publications. The extension of education has caused a deterioration of school, because teachers have offered to masses a product of inferior quality. In Western countries, despite the disappearance of illiteracy, most people can’t understand elementary texts. The natural sciences (physics, chemistry and biology) have as their main purpose the explanation and prediction of all phenomena of nature and make extensive use of mathematical language; the social sciences deal with human behaviour. The humanities produce texts and works to satisfy the aesthetic feeling, their value is based on semantics argumentation and elegance of style. An utilitarian conception prevails in the assessment of knowledge, that sees in applied science and in profit the aim of culture, that once promoted slowness and now requires quickness. This opinion is shared with enthusiasm by many librarians. However the long economic crisis should show that the model based on growing without limits failed. The promises are inferior to the hopes. We should revalue the usefulness of uselessness and understand that running after the future produces only anxiety. We shouldn’t forget that reading requires meditation and slowness.