Question

role of literature in the age of science

Answer 1

Literature is often a reflection of the ideas and mores prevalent in a society at a given time. It is therefore not surprising that ever since science began to play a major role in human civilization it too has had an impact on literature. In overt ways or only surreptitiously, emphatically or only mildly, science has been leaving its imprint on the literature of the peoples who have experienced the jolts of scientific thought and discoveries.

This becomes evident when on compares the literature of pre-scientific times with that of the post-scientific period. Before the rise of modern science, when religion and metaphysics rather than facts and figures held the attention of thinkers, literature was influenced largely by world views that rested on popular beliefs and pulpit teachings. It is good that this was so, and that this continues to be the case in many instances. For on the one hand such literature throws much light on the life and values of ages past. On the other and, the fears and prejudices, the naïve beliefs and myths of former times spurred the human imagination to produce some of the most powerful compositions in literary lore. The Vedas of ancient India, the Bible and the Koran, as also the countless poetic creations they have inspired, have all contributed to mankind's rich literary heritage.

Scholars have examined at considerable length the interactions between science and literature in particular periods of history, and in specific linguistic regions. But this is not the aspect of the subject that I propose to discuss in this paper. Rather I wish to explore science and literature as two enterprises that absorb the human intellect and feelings, as two domains of civilized activity that have never ceased to inspire the very best in the human spirit, and to examine how and when they seem to come into conflict with each other.

Answer 2

LITERATURE

Literature is often a reflection of the ideas and mores prevalent in a society at a given time. It is therefore not surprising that ever since science began to play a major role in human civilization it too has had an impact on literature. In overt ways or only surreptitiously, emphatically or only mildly, science has been leaving its imprint on the literature of the peoples who have experienced the jolts of scientific thought and discoveries.

This becomes evident when on compares the literature of pre-scientific times with that of the post-scientific period. Before the rise of modern science, when religion and metaphysics rather than facts and figures held the attention of thinkers, literature was influenced largely by world views that rested on popular beliefs and pulpit teachings. It is good that this was so, and that this continues to be the case in many instances. For on the one hand such literature throws much light on the life and values of ages past. On the other and, the fears and prejudices, the naïve beliefs and myths of former times spurred the human imagination to produce some of the most powerful compositions in literary lore. The Vedas of ancient India, the Bible and the Koran, as also the countless poetic creations they have inspired, have all contributed to mankind's rich literary heritage.

Scholars have examined at considerable length the interactions between science and literature in particular periods of history, and in specific linguistic regions. But this is not the aspect of the subject that I propose to discuss in this paper. Rather I wish to explore science and literature as two enterprises that absorb the human intellect and feelings, as two domains of civilized activity that have never ceased to inspire the very best in the human spirit, and to examine how and when they seem to come into conflict with each other.

First, let us define the terms. What is literature? Because of its vast scope and varied expressions there is no simple and comprehensive definition of the word. To Robert Frost literature was "words that have become deeds." To Ezra Pound literature was "news that always stayed news." In less pithy terms Fitzmaurice Kelly described literature as "the best expression of the best thought reduced to writing." Some have insisted that one ought to make a distinction between literature and informational writing. Thomas de Quincy, for one, maintained that "all that literature seeks to communicate is power; all that is not literature, knowledge."