Literature and Science

A Primer on Literature and Science

Combining interest in the history, philosophy, and sociology of science with knowledge of literary theory and criticism, the focus of literature and science is on examining the depictions of science, scientists, and technology in such literary genres as novels, short stories, poems, essays, stage plays, and screenplays. It also explores the influence of science and technology on literature, along with the impact of literature on the broader understandings of, and attitudes toward, science in society. Literature and science therefore differs from so-called "science studies" in its primary emphasis on the interpretation, evaluation, and significance of literary texts. It also differs from traditional literary criticism, however, in its emphasis on the relationship between the two cultures.

Perceptions of literature and science as a single area of study are unfortunately plagued by misunderstandings about literature and science respectively. For example, it is suspected that literary interpretation is a matter of personal opinion, received authority, or a combination of the two, with little or no place for logic or objective evidence. Whereas science is misperceived as being wholly quantitative and self-evident in its import, the meaning, significance, and value of literature are seen as hopelessly vague and imprecise; thus, they can safely be ignored as of no immediate consequence. Moreover, literature and science are often thought of as not only irrelevant to one another, but as antithetically opposed and even contradictory--as if literature were the antimatter of science, and for the two to touch could only cause destruction and chaos. Disciplinary isolation further promotes these beliefs.

Indeed, so isolated are those from different disciplines--and often even from individuals within their own discipline--that ignorance and lack of conscious reflection about what others do and how it relates to different areas or to education as a whole is common. However, the unhealthful consequences of such misunderstanding and isolation for students, for education, and for society are nonetheless palpable. In our current climate of increasingly narrow professionalization, trendy and abstruse research, publication for its own sake, and emphasis on immediate commercial interests, it is naive to assume that the important place of the humanities is generally understood or appreciated. It is therefore essential to counter the fragmentation and decontextualization of knowledge in our scientific age by reasserting the functions and ideals of humane literary study through a productive engagement with the sciences.

Unlike more rarified and polemical postmodern cultural criticism or more technical and specialized studies of science, the field of literature and science is uniquely fitted to the job of uniting and contextualizing knowledge from the "two cultures" through its integration of a responsible understanding of the sciences with the aims and ideals of humane literary scholarship. Because literary study is by nature largely qualitative, evaluative, and focused on values and ethics, the holism of literature and science as a field offers a vital antidote to atomization and solipsism. The imaginative realism and entertainment value of literary genres give them an unparalleled ability to engage the attention and emotions of the public and make them an ideal conduit for examining the many complexities and ramifications of science and technology in a memorable and meaningful way.

Obviously, the study of literature is not science, and a considerable degree of professional specialization is academically necessary in both the sciences and humanities. But, these facts do nothing to negate the human need to relate literary and scientific knowledge to a larger and more unified conception of the world and of our place in it. Neither literature nor science, therefore, are ultimately adequate unto themselves. Those in the field of literature and science recognize the responsibility to maintain a degree of scientific literacy befitting any citizen of a highly industrialized and democratic society, let alone a well-educated scholar and intellectual. Literary scholars need not become scientists, nor is it their main aim or responsibility to teach science. But, those in the humanities must know enough of science to responsibly interpret and teach literature that explores scientific and technological issues. For, far from being concerned with radically incommensurate forms of knowledge, literature and science provide context, inspiration, and direction to one another.

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