Abstract
CIVILISATION and its dangers formed the subject of a recent address by Prof. H. E. Armstrong to the Lancaster Society, the occasion being the delivery of the third Frankland Lecture. Reviewing the chemical foundations of the Industrial Revolution, he laid emphasis on the part played hitherto by coal, and on the necessity of preparation for the coming exhaustion of coal supplies, possibly not more than two centuries hence. Few to-day realise what coal means to them, or they would not use it thoughtlessly; they must take care for the morrow, and efforts should be directed not to employing more miners but to economising the use of coal. The 1851 Exhibition was the first witness to other nations of the fruits of the use of coal; but thereby the jealousy of other countries was excited, and then the engineers began to sell their machines abroad for others to copy, if not improve. They could not both have their cake and eat it unless in some way more cake were provided. Commercial war reigns everywhere; and this, the main problem of to-day, is brought upon them by the advance and spread of knowledge, especially by their power to use it. Insular conservatism is still a hindrance to progress; too often knowledge is ignorantly put aside, and management placed in uninformed hands. “Probably we are at the most perilous period in the history of our country, if not of the world,” said Prof. Armstrong, “with little time to look around and put our house in order.” Civilisation is fast becoming developed, if not organised, to promote the survival of the unfit. We are already in the position, owing to the art of scientific discovery and invention, of enjoying much more than before without striving; and he reminded his audience that man must either strive or degenerate.
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Dangers of Modern Civilisation. Nature 137, 265–266 (1936). https://doi.org/10.1038/137265b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/137265b0