Personal Claims Research Articles

The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution by C. P. Snow (review)

die pages, the reader will have no great difficulty in finding once again all die familiar features: die laborious argument to explain away unpalatable facts; the appeal to authority ; the astonishing personal claim; die attempt to discredit die work of those who do not share the audior's view. Such features never lose dieir charm and undoubtedly make the book more attractive to read, but they do not, in my opinion, add anything ofsubstance to die audior's case. Bernard Katz University College, London The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution. By C. P. Snow. Rede Lecture, 1959. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1959. Pp. 58. $1.75. The "two cultures" are the culture ofdie men ofscience and the culture ofpractically all die rest ofWestern society, primarily the artistic and literary culture ofthe so-called "intellectuals." Sir Charles Snow is uniquely qualified to write such a book, being at die same time a novelist ofdistinction, with afelicity ofstyle which makes the book a delight to read, and a scientist who did his own bit of scientific research at Cambridge during "one ofdie most wonderful creative periods in all physics," and who later was in charge ofdie scientific recruitment ofBritain during the second World War. His thesis is diat there is a gulfofalmost total incomprehension between the two cultures , that this gulfis becoming wider, and diat the feeling ofthe intellectuals toward die scientists is by way ofbecoming actively anti-scientific. The reasons for this are analyzed; in diis analysis the scientist appears in a somewhat more favorable light than the intellectual . But Sir Charles is chiefly concerned widi die consequences, which can be viewed only with the most serious misgivings. The consequences are especially serious because society is now passing through a period ofthe most revolutionary change since die invention of agriculture. The change is the change resulting from the industrial revolution. Two periods in the industrial revolution are to be recognized: die early period, in which matters pretty much took dieir own course, and die present period ofenormously accelerated progress because ofthe deliberate exploitation ofthe results ofscientific research. A society is obviously unfitted to cope widi a change ofthis magnitude when the vast majority ofits cleverest people have no idea ofwhat science is about, do not see what is happening, and do not much care. Sir Charles sees no remedy for this situation except a reform ofeducation. He makes a number ofspecific suggestions, without much apparent optimism that the suggestionswill be adopted. He regardsdie situation as particularly serious in England but is free to point out serious weaknessesinbodi the United States and Russia. He regards Russia as, on die whole, facing the situation most realistically. The present industrial revolution will ultimately result in the abolition ofthe distinction between die rich and the poor nations; he foresees the abolition ofthe distinction by the end of the century. He regards the period during which die have-not nations are pulling up their living standards as a particularly critical period for die West. He en565 visages that the West—in practice diis means the United States almost exclusively—must so modify itseconomythat it canpour the requisite financialresources into die submerged nations, and must so modify its educational system as to produce the abnormal number ofengineers necessary to give the technical assistance which will be temporarily required to assist the backward countries. The reason? He says, "I do know this: diat ifwe don't do it, die Communist countries will in time." By implication this would be the supreme calamity. It seems to me that here is the weakest part ofSir Charles's argument. Whyis it such a calamity ifthe Communist countries do do it first? Is not our fear based on the premise that economic aid is inseparable from political domination, and that eventual world domination will continue to be the ultimate Communist objective? But the Communist world also contains intelligent people, and the scientific industrial revolution will make changes there as well as here. It is already becoming evident to the more intelligent ofthem that their society is notdeveloping along the lines postulated by Marx. The Communist society as well as ours has the seeds ofchange in it. Ifwe are really convinced...

Shareholders' Rights and the rule in Foss v. Harbottle (continued)

Heading 4. “Fraud on a Minority,” where the Wrongdoers have “Control.”It was stated above, in the discussion of ultra vires, that actions falling under the fourth Heading of the “exceptions” to Foss v. Harbottle must be “corporate” and not “personal” actions. That is why a minority action brought on the grounds of “fraud” has usually been regarded as a real “relaxation” of the Rule. It is a special procedure, only allowed to the minority in order to avoid “an action in the name of the company, and then a fight as to the right to use its name” in which the minority must lose because the wrongdoers control the company. As such, it is “an excellent illustration of the golden principle that procedure with its rules is the handmaid and not the mistress of justice.” The representative form of the minority shareholders' action must not be permitted to obscure the fact that the “only relief possible in this action is corporate relief.” For this reason, those cases establishing a personal right to prevent any alteration of the articles which would be a fraud on the minority, do not fall under this Heading, and were placed under Heading 3. In the cases now to be discussed, all the rules appropriate to corporate actions apply —notably, that the plaintiff must sue in representative form and cannot join a personal claim; can attack wrongs anterior to his own membership; must join the company as a party; and can join the wrongdoers to assert the company's rights against them.

Constitutional Law. Self Incrimination. Individual Holding Corporate Documents in a Personal Capacity May Claim the Privilege with Respect to Them

Constitutional Law. Self Incrimination. Individual Holding Corporate Documents in a Personal Capacity May Claim the Privilege with Respect to Them

What Is a Linguist?

THE WAR brought a sudden need for young Americans with a speaking knowledge of various Oriental languages. We had in the country some totally inadequate facilities for teaching them Chinese or Japanese, but for most other Oriental languages we had neither schools nor teachers nor usable textbooks. Thanks to a small group of linguists, the generosity of the Rockefeller Foundation, and the efficient management of the American Council of Learned Societies, a limited supply of teachers has been provided, and they have already made many American soldiers effective of Japanese, Chinese, Annamese, Thai, Malay, Burmese, Hindustani Turkish, Arabic, or some other Oriental language. For European languages the situation was less desperate; experienced teachers of German, French, and Spanish are numerous, and not a few of the soldiers already knew something of one of these or of some other European language. Nevertheless it was evidently necessary for many young men, who at the moment knew only English, to speak German, Italian, French or Russian fluently--and to acquire this fluency in the shortest possible time. The task has been undertaken with enthusiasm in a number of colleges and universities, and the results are very gratifying. No responsible person claims any royal road to learning has been discovered, or any miracles are being performed, although startling rumors have been circulated. Most unfortunate, because of their definiteness, are some reports that students who have had only eight weeks instruction are to judged successful speakers and a certain language can be mastered in six weeks.l What cart claimed is in several universities the teaching of foreign languages to soldiers has been much more efficient than our peacetime record had led anyone to expect. After several months of study of Malay, soldiers are welcome and enthusiastic guests at dances given by the Malayspeaking colony in New York. Several soldiers who had been studying Russian for six months or so met some Russians who were on a mission to the United States, and had trouble convincing the guests they had never lived in Russia. Many similar incidents are reported by soldier students of other languages, both European and Oriental. Certainly has not hitherto been the usual experience of Americans who have studied foreign languages in our schools. As a result of all this many laymen, including administrative officers of schools, colleges, and universities, are convinced a considerable educa-

Prof. J. E. Johansson

PROF. J. E. JOHANSSON, of Stockholm, died on March 31, at seventy-six years of age. Johansson was professor of physiology at the Caroline Institute in Stockholm from 1901 until 1927. His first degree was in physics and mathematics. He then studied physiology with Holmgren in Uppsala, and in 1889 he worked with Ludwig in Leipzig. In 1890 he was awarded his M.D. degree for a thesis on the splanchnic nerves and was appointed reader in Tigerstedt's laboratory at Stockholm. From 1890 until 1908, he carried out his well-known researches on metabolism, particularly in connexion with muscular exercise. From 1908 onwards, however, his spare time was chiefly occupied with various activities on behalf of the Swedish Government. He was chairman also (until 1926) of the Medical Nobel Committee, and the high standard which he maintained gave him an enormous amount of work in studying the claims of persons proposed for the Nobel Prize in physiology and medicine.

Bankruptcy. Status of Compromise Payment by Bankrupt of Personal Tort Claims

Bankruptcy. Status of Compromise Payment by Bankrupt of Personal Tort Claims

The Proposed Leprosy Congress.

New York, Oct. 19, 1896. To the Editor: —I enclose some copies of letters relating to the proposed leprosy congress. The first idea was to hold it in Bergen, Norway, out of compliment to Hansen. The latter has now renounced his personal claims, and the opinions are now divided between London and Moscow. As you will see, we were happy enough to secure the interest of Queen Victoria, and we have a well grounded hope that the British government will take an active part in the enterprise. Dr. Hutchinson thinks that the Prince of Wales will almost to a certainty consent to act as president of the Congress if held in London. As the British empire is more interested than any other country in the question of leprosy, it seems but natural, especially with these great advantages, that London should be chosen. Dr. Morrow, who is the committee appointed by

The Microphone

THE pleasure with which those beautiful discoveries and inventions, the telephone, the phonograph, and the microphone, have been appreciated by the world, has been unhappily, and I must say I think unnecessarily, marred by one of the most disagreeable things that can be thrust on the public—a personal claim of priority, accompanied by accusations of bad faith, especially when made against any one of whose name and fame the public has come to feel concerned.