The Climate Change Crisis?

Abstract A necessary (though probably not sufficient) condition for creativity in the sciences and the arts to flourish is a liberal/democratic socio-political environment. In Europe this was manifested in the Enlightenment as Galileo, Copernicus and others laid the foundations for the evidence-based natural philosophy which signaled the birth of “The Enlightenment”. The importance of intellectual and personal freedom for humanitarian advance is clearly manifested in the exponential success of the sciences in conquering many humanitarian problems from starvation and disease to the more obvious technologies that make modern life relatively pleasant for many - especially in the developed world. On the down side however has been the reckless thirst of a plethora of governments to exploit the vast powers of the sciences to construct ever more powerful destructive weapons. Since then, the great thinkers from Kant to Russell, scientists from Einstein to Feynman and writers from Whitman to Shaw have repeatedly pointed to the importance of the doubt-based philosophy that is the crucial antidote to the stultifying effect of dogmas of all kinds. Indeed it is only doubt that leaves the road open for all advances in human endeavour. In the 21st Century we have reached a watershed in that the human race now confronts a set of crises significantly more serious than any previously. These threats can only be overcome by an open minded liberal education of the next generation of young people. Before the name “Science” was coined it had another name, “Natural Philosophy” which more adequately describes its primary place in the spectrum of human culture. More important than any other aspect is the fact that Natural Philosophy is the only philosophical construct we have devised to determine Truth with any degree of reliability. As such it should be a primary ethical focus for the education of every child, student and citizen so at the very least they can decide whether what they are being told is actually true. This is also a strong intellectual basis for fostering creativity. For a truly humanitarian global society to evolve, equality of opportunity and personal freedom will be a necessary for all young people whatever their race, colour, nationality and most importantly sex. All technologies have the capacity to benefit society or to be detrimental and so as powerful new technical advances arise there is an onus on everyone to understand some important SET factors. As our modern world is so completely - and precariously - balanced on SET, an understanding of these disciplines by all in positions of responsibility is vital. Although wise decision-making may not be guaranteed by knowledge, common sense suggests that wisdom is an unlikely consequence of ignorance. Education is certainly a key factor and the Internet must be harnessed to improve matters. With the Vega Science Trust (www.vega.org.uk) an exciting new Global Educational Outreach for Science Engineering and Technology initiative GeoSet (www.geoset.info) and (www.geoset.fsu.edu) we are now working with other Universities to make outstanding educational material available on the Internet in any part of the world.