THE OUTLOOK OF SCIENCE
BY
J. B. S. HALDANE
Professor of Genetics, University College, London University
Writer of "Possible Worlds,: and "The Inequality of Man"
PSYCHE MINIATURES
General Series No. 80
Put into Basic by
W. Empson
LONDON :
KEGAN PAUL, TRENCH, TRUBNER & Co., Ltd.
BROADWAY HOUSE, CARTER LANE. E.C.
1935
TO THE READER
The 850 words of Basic English -- the language used in this book -- are given on a folded page at the front. This short list is not a first state in the learning of English (though it may be used as such) but the apparatus of a complete language-machine which is itself a part of normal English. With this language it is possible to give an account of complex ideas, and its solid structure may safely be used as a base for the higher levels of science.
At these higher levels, as was made clear in Basic English Applied (Science). short special lists are needed -- 100 words for general science and 50 words for any one branch of it. In addition to these, the great number of special words which are international among men of science may be used for expert readers.
But though these additional to Basic are necessary when it is used by experts writing for experts, nothing but the 850 words of the general list are needed in writing about science at a simple level for a wider public. In fact, there is much to be said for the view that this list is the best election for the purpose even in England and America, because anyone limiting himself on Basic lines will automatically put things in a way which is clear to the general reader -- if he himself has a good knowledge of what he is writing about.
At a time when public opinion may have increasingly important effects on the future of science, the general reader is a person the experts would do well to take more seriously ; and the current view that any newspaper story is good enough for the public may do great damage to the cause of science. With the help of Basic, such accounts may be made simple without becoming bad science. Mr. S. L. Salzedo's A Basic Astronomy is an interesting example of what may be done in this connection.
In this book, however, a somewhat different sort of test is being made. Mr. Empson has taken material noted for its value to the general reader, and put it into Basic in the interests of an international public. If such material has been turned into Basic without great loss of thought or feeling, we may be certain that the range of the language is great enough for the needs of general science.
This is one of two Basic books which have been made from a selection of have been made from a selection of Professor Haldane's papers in Possible Worlds and The inequality of Man. It puts together some accounts of the theories of present day science so as to give a general picture of our position on the Earth as living beings. The other book, Science and Well-Being, gives the views of a biology worker (and a man uncommonly fertile in his ideas and wide in his knowledge) on important questions of general public interest. No complete line of division is possible between the questions covered in the two books (that, in fact, is why they are important) and anyone interested in one book will be interested in the other.
There is good reason for giving international form to the sort of views put forward in these books, because their purpose is itself international. The thoughts here are in no way dependent on the tricks of one language. And because the different countries are now becoming more dependent on one another, with quicker transport and more complex trade relations, the need for the international outlook of science is becoming greater.
The English or American reader may be interested in making the comparison for himself between the papers in their Basic form and in normal English. It is our hope that he will do so. Professor Haldane has a very straightforward way of writing, and though there may be some loss of its force in Basic, the feeling is not much changed. As to the sense, Professor Haldane has been kind enough to go through the book, making a number of suggestions, and has given his authority for it to be printed in its present form. He was even ready to say that in some places the argument is the better for being put in this form.
In addition to the 850 words printed at the front, Mr. Empson has naturally made use of the general international words fixed as part of the Basic system and of words which are international for science. Where other words have been used their sense has first been made clear. In addition to these, a small number of special names have been kept in simply as examples. These are not necessary to the argument but make it more detailed.
At the end of the book there is a list of words whose sense is given on one page of the book and which are then used on later pages.
C. K. OGDEN.
The Orthological Institute,
10, King's Parade,
Cambridge.
1 . HOW LIVING BEINGS FIRST CAME INTO EXISTENCE
(more)
2 . MAN AS AN ANIMAL
(more)
3 . ON BEING THE RIGHT SIZE
(more)
4 . ON SCALES
Link to previous summary in "International Second Language."
5 . WHAT MAN MAY BECOME
(more)
6 . THE LAST JUDGING OF THE EARTH
(more)
SPECIAL WORDS
A list of words which are not in Basic and are used in more than one page, with a guide to the page on which the sense is made clear.
cell, 16
crab, 39
elephant, 45
flea, 15
gene, 18
mammal, 25
mouse (mice), 45
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