English Philosopher Bertrand Russell in the fourth of his six lectures, delivered on June 2, 1953 – part of the series “Living In An Atomic Age” – this episode, entitled “Limits Of Human Power”, Russell discusses the issues of human intrusion in the balance of things. How the advances in the fields of technology and science have had profoundly good affects, but also profoundly troubling affects.
Long before the issue of climate change was thought about and discussed to any degree, the political aspects of depletion of resources was looked at more or less as a Cold War issue. In the area of energy, resources such as oil and coal and how each was being used at an alarmingly fast rate would eventually lead to their disappearance altogether. In the area of Science, what innovations were being developed that either helped or hurt society?
This is 1953, America and in fact the world, was living under the almost constant threat of nuclear obliteration – hence the title of the program Living In An Atomic Age. Bertrand Russell also discusses where Earth is in the grand scheme of things and that maybe running the risk of obliteration could come in the natural order of things such as the Sun exploding could be the bigger concern – although that eventuality was much further off than the world in 1953 and that such an occurrence would be completely out of our control. What people were doing to earth was in our control.
Some of this lecture is tongue-in-cheek while some of what Bertrand Russell discusses are issues which are facing us in 2025, making this program from 1953 somewhat prophetic, but also gives some indication we’ve had a lot of time to prepare and that virtually nothing currently happening should come as a surprise.
Although it’s fascinating to consider in 1953 we were only dreaming of one day exploring space and that the Internet was nowhere near even being considered much less personal computers. Still, the fundamental issues are just as relevant then as now.
Here is the fourth episode of Living In An Atomic Age, with Bertrand Russell as broadcast by the BBC in Britain and ABC Radio in America on June 2, 1953.
