Abstract
For the academic community in China and the world, the launching of the new journal Cultures of Science is a result of joint efforts in a bid to promote the undertaking in this regard.
Science constitutes an integral part of modern civilization while the essence of the latter consists of thinking and ideas. Significant scientific discoveries originate from breakthroughs in people's thoughts; while scientific principles and methodologies used to explore social and natural phenomena and laws will lead to radical changes in people's mind. So, science and culture are closely related to each other.
In China, there are more than 90 million scientific personnel in the areas of science, technology and engineering. As scientific research grows with each passing day, we are more concerned with the scientific spirit embodied in scientists' activities as well as the impact that scientific research may exert on them.
China has a long history and a brilliant culture, and boasts great scientific achievements in ancient times. Even today, some of the scientific ideas, including the natural outlook of ‘the harmony between man and nature’, and the philosophy of ‘dialectical treatment’ in traditional Chinese medical culture, still have a big impact on us. With the rapid development of science and technology, the way we approach science will have a bearing on the development of mankind and the prosperity of our society.
Scientists and scholars in many other countries and regions are equally concerned with the development of science and technology. It is in such a context that the National Academy of Innovation Strategy, led by China Association for Science and Technology, has launched the new journal. The journal aims at building a community of scholars who are expecting to carry out international, inter-disciplinary and cross-cultural communication. The topics include: cultural studies, science communication, the history and philosophy of science and all intersections between culture and science.
The editorial board is comprised of scholars from China, Canada, the United Kingdom, India, Italy, and Japan. To guarantee quality, the journal will be in strict conformity with standards of international academic journals. Thanks to the joint efforts of our staff, the inaugural issue of Cultures of Science will be available to our readers in September 2018.