Social Science

THE question of the utilisation of science, raised in a discussion at the recent conference on academic freedom at Oxford, acquires the greater interest through both the recent meeting at Norwich of the British Association and also the way in which political affairs have directed attention to the necessity for considering how science can be used for human welfare. From whatever point of view we regard the dispute between Italy and Abyssinia, or the measures for defence against air raids now being initiated by the British Government, the question as to the misdirection of scientific knowledge cannot be evaded. Similarly, this year's programme for the meeting of the British Association has shown that in many ways the isolation of the scientific worker is breaking down and to an increasing extent he is considering the relation between his work and the society in which he finds himself.