PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS xvii Smaller meetings have been arranged, but the schedules of our Interna- tional Congresses are different.. It is not possible to work on Logic, Methodology and Ph
Trang 1PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS xvii
Smaller meetings have been arranged, but the schedules of our Interna- tional Congresses are different I hope there will be some discussion at the General Assembly about ways of having greater collaboration and intellectual exchange It is not possible to work on Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science-without a sense for the History of Science Nor
is it possible to avoid ewtacts with working scientists Our Program Committees have done ‘well to bring interesting speakers from many subjects, but we must t& more to have smaller joint meetings with scientists of many kinds Departments at universities and academies are
too often compartments, with doors and windows closed An organization
such as ours can do much to open up communication on all the problems
of common concern
The second main reason for having international meetings is that they
are international I remember the 1st Congress at Stanford in 1960 very vividly At that time there had not been so many congresses, and it was a great opportunity to meet many interesting people We have now had large numbers of congresses in many subjects since then, but in our area there is a special reason for international gatherings Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science cannot be separated from consideration of the Ethics of Science, and in this realm there is a great need for international understanding The Program Committee and Organizing Committee have kept this in mind, but so should we as participants
All over the world intellectuals have a great many privileges, in particular, freedom of thought and freedom of travel True, at one time
or the other these freedoms have been restricted, but in the long run the
privileges exist My point is that privilege engenders responsibility The
enormous and very fast development of Science has put the world in great peril Over this century we have been in the grips of terrible wars: political, economic, religious, and racial The climate of war has caused too great a growth of the economy of armament We have to remember what is called “defense” can too easily change to aggression The only hope for our world is greater communication and understanding between peoples We of the Division of Logic, Methodology and Philosophy of Science, both in personal contacts and through our scholarship, can
contribute in essential ways to this communication We must!
In this spirit of international freedom of thought,
I declare this congress open!