Scientific Culture: Its Western Origin and its Context in Modern China

Distinguished guests, dear colleagues,

Today, the 2018 Science and You International Conference is being held in Beijing. Scholars from around the world will exchange ideas under the theme of ‘Knowing, Sharing and Caring: New Insights for a Diverse World’. This in itself reflects our shared desire to promote communication and interaction among different scientific cultures. Now, I would like to offer some of my observations on the features of scientific culture in China today.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, natural philosophers in Europe began to combine rational exploration with empirical research to form new scientific methods and express the ideals, beliefs and purposes of the scientific community. It was against this backdrop that a new culture within the scientific community—scientific culture—came into being. It included a new set of values, thinking patterns and behavioural and social norms developed by the scientific community based on scientific activities.

The rapid advance of modern science, especially the combination of science and modern technologies, has stimulated productivity growth, leading to closer relationships between science and society and continuous expansion of the science–society interface. Scientific culture, which is created within the science community, has been extended to all areas of society. As a result, the public is increasingly convinced that science provides human beings with the wisdom to understand nature, and rational inspiration to explore the future of the world. With widespread public recognition of the value and significance of science, scientific culture has become an important part of popular culture. Conversely, the diversity of social culture has also had an impact on scientific culture and shaped its various features.

Since the introduction of modern science into China, scientific culture, which originated in the Western scientific community, has blended with and become deeply rooted in traditional Chinese culture and has developed Chinese characteristics.

1. The different cultural backgrounds of Chinese and Western scientific cultures

Scientific culture was born in the West. As early as in ancient Greece, the free people's pursuit of pure knowledge and the ‘use of useless knowledge’ fostered and shaped both curiosity about nature and the rational tradition in Western culture. The establishment, development and perfection of metaphysics provided useful mental training for the further pursuit of the establishment of a strict and self-consistent system of logic. The debate between nominalism and realism in Christian scholasticism paved the way for the birth of modern science. Modern science, with paradigms to do with seeking truth, experimentation, falsification and quantification, formed its own cultural traditions, which gradually became the ethical norms and values of the scientific community. Since then, modern science has fully demonstrated the ‘power of knowledge’ with its convincing and persuasive achievements. Science has changed the world, and knowledge has stirred the hearts of people. Scientific culture has penetrated into every corner of society and has come to represent the mainstream values of Western society.

Similarly, in the process of understanding and transforming the natural world, the Chinese people also fostered a distinctive cultural tradition. A respect for the laws of nature and an emphasis on holistic thinking, systematic thinking, dialectical thinking, the unity of humans and nature, meditation and implicit expression are important features of the traditional Chinese culture represented by Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. They provided a guide for Chinese people to live in peace with others, with society and with nature, and gave birth to outstanding achievements in agriculture, medicine, astronomy and the study of calendars. Traditional Chinese culture, which values integrity, relevance, synthesis, tolerance and emotion, is different from the scientific culture of the West, which emphasizes rationality, criticism, analysis, experimentation and accuracy.

Scientific cultures established on different foundations are different, each with its own characteristics and strengths, requiring exchange and mutual learning. It must be recognized that China is still lagging behind in modern science compared with the advanced developed countries of the West. We should learn from them and carry forward the spirit of modern science. We should be modest and sincere, and willing to be students.

2. The features of different periods of Chinese and Western scientific cultures

At the beginning of modern science in the West, its primary purpose lay in advocating human rationality and exploring the laws governing the natural world. Utilitarianism was not its original intention. Today, the power of science is becoming increasingly evident. Thus, the desire to build a powerful country and deliver a life of prosperity has become an important force driving the advance of science and technology. However, an emphasis on the discovery of nature's secrets and the pursuit of pure knowledge and the ‘use of useless knowledge’ has always been an important element in the scientific culture of the West, a source of innovation and a powerful driving force for the development of science and technology.

When modern science was introduced into China, the nation was struggling for survival and the people were living in despair. The whole country was like a person in a deep sleep who might never wake up. Faced with this situation, Chinese intellectuals were extremely depressed and anxious, so they turned their eyes to the world in search of solutions that could save their nation, develop their country and improve the lives of their people. Modern science provided a glimmer of hope for these patriots. They studied and applied Western science and technology in China. They were not just willing to devote themselves to the pursuit of pure knowledge of the natural world, but were also committed to ending their national humiliation by realizing national prosperity and the people's happiness. To them, science was a powerful weapon and a tool for saving and serving the country. Instead of merely talking the talk, they were involved in practical actions.

In this sense, the pursuit of national survival and prosperity was the main characteristic of the scientific culture in modern history of China. It was during the process of accepting, spreading and promoting scientific culture that Chinese intellectuals developed the rational spirit and the ideas of democracy and freedom that separated them from the traditional Chinese intelligentsia, and shaped their deep collective feelings, national consciousness and patriotic spirit. This unique scientific culture has been passed on to this day, and blended into the blood of generations of Chinese scientists.

3. The regional features of the scientific culture of China today

Owing to China's vast territory, its regional differences in geographical environments and culture, and imbalances in economic and social development, the scientific culture of the public, including its knowledge, interests, attitudes, participation and understanding of the relationship between science and society, varies from region to region.

The results of the recently published survey of the scientific literacy of the Chinese people in 2018 show that the proportion of citizens with basic scientific literacy in both Beijing and Shanghai has exceeded 20%. However, apart from Tianjin, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong, no other province, municipality or autonomous region has reached 10%. Nineteen provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions even fall below 5.5%, with the lowest at only 1.93%. The regional differences are more than evident.

One phenomenon revealed by the survey is that, in provinces with relatively high levels of economic development, the overall level of scientific literacy is relatively high, and some citizens with high levels of scientific knowledge have already developed a critical scientific spirit and started to reflect on issues such as the limits and ethics of science. In provinces with relatively low levels of economic development, people with low levels of scientific knowledge tend to be blindly optimistic about the social impact of scientific and technological progress. In addition, the correlation between the level of scientific knowledge and the level of interest and attitude toward science also varies from region to region.

Modern science has been introduced into China for more than 100 years, and it has taken root, blossomed and yielded bumper fruits. The fact that the scientific culture of modern China has different features in different regions and communities not only reflects unbalanced regional development in China, but also shows that the scientific culture of modern China has entered a new stage that requires reflection, upgrading and cultivation.

4. The mainstreams of the Chinese and Western scientific cultures

Scientific culture is an important part of the economic and social system, which inevitably takes on different features at different stages of economic and social development. This means that, during these different stages, efforts to develop scientific culture and science and technology should have different focuses and emphases.

In the process of Western industrialization, the positive role of science and technology was widely recognized. Most people held a positive view towards accelerating the development and application of science and technology. Scientific culture thus became a mainstream value in society. During the post-industrialization stage, the problems associated with the development and application of modern science and technology triggered people's reflections and criticisms. The rise of disruptive technologies, such as in the life sciences, information technology and artificial intelligence, also caused concerns about dysfunctional scientific research and the disorderly application of science and technology that could ultimately hurt humans themselves. These events also make diversity a more prominent feature of scientific culture in the post-modern era.

China is still the largest developing country in the world, and is still in the primary stage of socialism. The proportion of Chinese citizens with basic scientific literacy is now 8.47%, 2.30% higher than the 2015 figure of 6.20%—a notable increase indeed. However, the proportion of United States citizens with basic scientific literacy reached 17% as early as 1999, and 28% by 2005; the figure for Sweden in the same year was a staggering 35%. All this points to a considerable gap between China and developed countries with regard to the basic scientific literacy of their citizens.

At the current stage, we should focus on promoting the scientific spirit and the development of scientific culture. We must always pay attention to the value of science and technology and keep this development on the right course. However, what is now more important is to emphasize the significance of scientific development, strengthen the popularization of science, vigorously promote the spirit of modern science, enhance the pace of scientific and technological innovation, and make science and technology a pillar for development and a guide to a bright future.

Distinguished guests, dear colleagues!

‘Harmony in diversity’ is the quintessence of Chinese culture. Scientific cultures are diversified by nature. Difference is no reason for conflict. It is different colours that make a magnificent painting, and different instruments that perform a pleasant melody. All things in nature coexist without hindering one another. All planets in the universe travel their own paths without collision. Minor virtues will converge into an ever-flowing river, and great virtues will benefit all others. It is this inclusiveness that creates a mighty world. As long as we embrace the spirit of inclusiveness, mutual understanding, mutual learning and sharing, we will be able to open up new prospects for the harmonious coexistence of the scientific cultures of all humans.

This is also the purpose of this conference.

Thank you!