Evening star., 1934-12-12
ESCAPE attitude
REVERSAL URGED.
Noted Carnegie Institution
Biologist Points to His
toriCa! Facts.
BY THOMAS r. HENRY.


Reversal of the escape psychology
by which the race has met its social
and economic problems in the past
was urged last night by DR.. H. A.
Spoehr, noted biologist of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington, in the sec
ond of series of lectures at the Ma
tional Museum on the relations of
science and modern life.
Most of the developments of history
In the past, DR.. Spoehr said, have been
characterized by people running away
from their troubles instead of facing
them frankly, in the scientific manner,
which alone would have afforded a
solution.
There can be little doubt" he said,
shat the founding and population of
our country was in large measure
motivated as an escape from conditions
which our ancestors felt incapable of
meeting in any other way than by
migrating to new environment. The
same method was clearly followed In
the settlement of our West, prompted
by the desire of freedom from restraint
and from the manifold problems in
cident to denser population.
Substitution of Problems.
Fundamentally, this migration was
largely a matter of substituting one
type of problem for another. To some
it seemed easier to battle with nature
and the elements in an unsettled coun-
try than to face the soul-corroding in
fluences of social conflict in the more
densely populated areas. The differ
ence was largely one of mental at
titude. Our population was essentially
q pioneer one, resourceful, Self-Wllled
and endowed with courage, not with
out ruthlessness and with little thought
for the morrow.
Since the founding of the Nation
we have exercised a dlSorderly ex-
ploitation, the quitting OF mine, for
est and soil But the consequences
are not nearly as serious as that
attitude that the social problems that
followed in their wake could be cir
cumvented or postponed and that
there was no necessity of squarely
meeting those problems as soon as
they presented themselves. AS con-
sequence, we did not see them. None
of these problems is really new IN
principle. 1t is only because they
have been allowed to accumulate that
they have forced themselves on our
attention With unexpected sudden
mes the frontiers have disappeared
and the gaps have been closed by
modern transportation and communi-
cation. There is no opportunity to
move on, no chance of escape.
Crisis Philosophy Seen.
ut is perhaps not surprising, con-
sidering our whole social and religious
background, that in this situation
there should have arisen what is ap-
parently a crisis philosophy, a panic
stricken mental attitude which fore
sees doom and catastrophe when faced
with disagreeable changes and an un-
certain future Scientific thinking
is still very thin veneer on the sur
face of our social structure"
One of the serious features OF this
"crisis philosophy" DR.. Spoehr said,
is that it tends to abrogate the rule
Of dispassionate reasoning on the
basis of experience so that persons
act on arbitrary judgments without
regard to existing knowledge. Fear
of change becomes the dominating
element.
The method of inquiry which has
been so successful among the sciences,
he said, grew out of recognition that
continuous change must be expected
of all things, that such change is
related to past experience, and that
it is possible to learn the factors and
forces impelling the change.
Science" he said, has taken the
offensive in pursuit of its problems
and instead of avoiding them or tenn
porizing with them, it has struggled
to solve them"
Analysis First Step.
"Now that circumstances have
forced q wider realization that in the
new social conditions a problem ex-
ists," he continued, "the first step
must be an analysis Of the various
factors involved and an attempt to
define them in the light of existing
knowledge. This is frequently the
most difficult and discouraging stage
wolves a laboriouS period of fact-flnd-
ing and sitting of data. But if the
scientific ideals are adhered to and
knowledge is permitted this period
of CESSATION it is prepared for the
birth struggle of new fundamental
concepts.
THE scientists whole evolution has
taught him that when you turn your
back on knowledge you face confusion.
The first step is frankly to recognize
that there is a problem. That in it
self involves large element of in
tellectual honesty and avoids much
haphazard guessing and fumbling op-
portunism. The problem is part of
continuous change and as such it has
past which can be investigated and
described in terms of experience.
Through honest effort we shall dis
cover new and unexpected human
relationships which must carry us
for tnmard a solution >,