"John Desmond Bernal (1901-1971) was undoubtedly the most important of the "Western" scientists who, during the twentieth century, accepted the Marxist view of social development. He did more than "accept" it: he tried to sketch the whole history of science from a Marxist viewpoint; he wrote a number of articles explicitly expounding his view of the relation of Marxism to science; and from his student days he played an active role in Communist politics. He has been criticised: during his lifetime, for too readily accepting official Soviet policy, whether relating to society or to science; since his death, for having been too ready to hope that his vision of the use of science for human ends could be implemented by capitalist societies; and at all times, for an allegedly simplistic faith in science as the salvation of mankind."

Quote Details

Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Computer scientists from the United KingdomAcademics from the United KingdomUniversity of Oxford alumniPeople from SydneyLibrarians from the United Kingdom
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
English (Original)

Sources

Revision History

No revisions have been submitted for this quote.

Categories

Computer scientists from the United KingdomAcademics from the United KingdomUniversity of Oxford alumniPeople from SydneyLibrarians from the United Kingdom

Unknown

35329 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Unknown →

Related Quotes