Science is a method of understanding nature, as such, it can only be fully understood through analyzing the art, literature and culture of the worlds inhabitants.

The Rutgers British Studies Center had this understanding in mind when they invited like-minded professionals to speak at Scientific (R)evolutions last Friday in Alexander Librarys Teleconference Lecture Hall.

Erin Kelly, coordinator of the event, wanted to break boundaries between disciplines to achieve a higher understanding of sciences impact on society and vice versa.

Kelly, a graduate student from the Department of English, said the conference proved the continuities between seemingly unrelated subjects. They put a lot of effort into organizing the panels into unrelated topics.

Even if the person is [in] a completely different field than your own, you can have conversations that link different texts, she said.

They had people talking about contemporary poetry and creating coherent threads with science, Kelly said.

John Tresch, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed the impacts of spirituality and multiculturalism on the progress of science. He said these other forms of thought are constructive for science.

The Society for Psychical Research from the late 19th century was a moment when loads of physicists were very convinced by spiritualism, as it existed then, he said.

On the other hand, he said, scientists frequently draw borders with what counts as believable, excluding ideas that have no concrete material manifestation. Many scientists will scoff at theories of spiritualism that require invisible forces.

In the earlier 20th century these ideas had more leniency, he said. While it is easy to find cases of simple opposition, his interest is in studying spiritualism and different cultures and its effects on mainstream science.

Originally posted here:
Interdisciplinary conference explores science via culture