Constructing “Pure” and “Applied” Science in Early Francoism

Abstract

The paper discusses several appropriations of the categories of “pure” and “applied” science (mainly in chemistry) in early Francoism. At the height of a crusade that criminalized “pure” science as inherently attached to the culture of the Second Spanish Republic, the category of “pure” assumed spiritual, religious and anti-materialist values in the early education policies of the new regime, in the context of the newly founded national research centre, the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC). At the same time, relevant Francoist scientists stressed the high moral status of a new utilitarian, “applied” science, to efficiently serve the material needs of the country. As a result, the categories of “pure” and “applied” science, and their rhetorical use in public addresses and propaganda, became useful tools for building a strong alliance between science and power that cemented the dictatorship.