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−62−Synthesiology - English edition Vol.1 No.1 (2008) Article:Science and society, or research institution and journal: A historical retrospection (M. Akamatsu, et al.)were important in the ancient world, accurate observations were essential. In Egypt, it was known that embalming and preservation technologies were used from fragments of papyrus. Unparalleled, advanced surveying technology was used to build the pyramids. In all early civilizations, metallurgy, the technology for refining metal, was established as core technology. Of course, military technologies were fervently developed in ancient times. Crane and catapult designed by Archimedes were used successfully in the Punic Wars between Rome and Sicily, and Zhuge Liang of Three Kingdom Period, China invented the south-pointing compass and overwhelmed the Wei army. Ancient science and technology were linked closely to national needs. In other words, only knowledge that was useful to the state was nurtured and systematized.The origin of pre-modern science and technology was generally incidental, and the research system for obtaining new and useful knowledge was not organized, except in some exceptions like the study of medicinal herbs. Although useful scientific knowledge existed, there was no system to retrieve them in organized and systematic manner. In the Middle Ages, research was primarily storage of the ancient heritage and passing them on to the successors.In modern times, the thinking that scientific knowledge brings benefit to people’s lives started from a philosopher, Francis Bacon (1561-1626). In Novum Organum written in 1620, he described the public interest and innovation of scientific research and its effect on people’s lives, as well as the benefit of technology and knowledge of craftsmen. In a utopian novel, New Atlantis, written in 1627, Bacon imagined a national research institute called “Solomon’s House” where scientists convened to conduct research, claimed that knowledge contributed to expanding power, and asserted that the domain of human empire can be expanded by natural philosophy. This was the germination of philosophy of science and technology with objective to contribute to society.From where did the philosophy of social contribution of natural sciences arise? Science as we know now was called natural philosophy at the time, and was considered as one of the studies to acquire knowledge, along with theology and humanities. Since God created nature, knowing nature created by God was to know the act of God, so nature was considered to be the second Bible. The foundation was Christian philanthropy: knowing nature and knowing God by natural philosophy will bring happiness to all humankind. Due to the Inquisition against Galileo’s heliocentric theory, science and religion are often considered to be antagonistic, but in Bacon’s philosophy, natural philosophy or natural science was an effort to know God.We must not forget another point in Bacon’s philosophy that greatly affected science. Bacon stated that deduction, where inference is made from general principles, tended to fall into error of prejudice and preconception (idola), and so one should use induction, where a principle is reached from observation of evidences (empiricism). That was the reason for pushing natural philosophy. Also, basic methodology for science rested on thinking that accumulation of evidences obtained from observations and experiments will expose the principles hidden in nature.3 Establishment of societies and science academiesIn the 17th century when modern science was established, societies and science academies arose in major western cities, as places to exchange and accumulate knowledge of natural science. Universities had only three departments for theology, mathematics, and law. It had no department that specialized in natural science, and subjects such as geometry and astronomy were sometimes taught under the category of liberal arts, which is equivalent to the modern general education curriculum. Natural science here was learned through Classics, and the works of ancient philosophers had authority inscribed in gold. Empirical approach of learning new facts by experiments and observations was not taken. Therefore, a stance of collecting objective evidence and extracting general theory or law was not nurtured, and as a consequence, the university was not an appropriate place to present scientific findings.In this age, natural scientists continued their study as a hobby while either engaging in proper trade or receiving patronage of aristocrats and royalties. Societies started as places to conduct experiments, to discuss, and to publicize the discoveries and inventions of these natural scientists. Accademia dei Lincei and Accademia del Cimento of Italy to which Galileo belonged were first societies. Royal Society of London (1662-), in which Newton and Boyle participated as members, and Académie Royale des Sciences (1666-) in Paris, France followed. The Royal Society of London is the oldest society that exists to this day. When Japanese hear the word “society”, they may think of an organization with an office in a university or a research institution, but these science academies not only served as places to present research results, but also had experimental facilities where the members could conduct experiments (Figure 1). As it can be seen from this, the science academies from which modern societies originated were research institutions or centers.The science academies created as places where researchers convened to conduct experiments and present research reports were realizations of Bacon’s “Solomon’s House”, and the Royal Society of London, to which Lord Chancellor

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