The New Route for Integration Between Scientific Spirits and Humanistic Spirit:

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[a]School of Political Science and Public Administration, Chongqing, China.

[b]Associate Professor, School Of Marxism, Guizhou University, Guizhou, China.

[c]Professor, Center for Studies of Economic and Social Development, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.

*Corresponding author.

Supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (SWU1309359); the General Project of National Social Science Fund (12BZX026); 2013 Guizhou University Project “Environmental Philosophy Localization Research” (2X2013070).

Received 15 March 2014; accepted 29 June 2014

Published online 27 August 2014

Abstract

At present, many scholars are discussing the organic integration between scientific spirits and humanistic spirits, but the discussions in integration route seem so deficient, as well as the realistic operability. The “Apple” spirit created by Jobs achieves high integration between scientific spirits and humanistic spirits. So from the angle of Jobs, to rethink and discuss their integration route from the philosophical level is not only a urgent affair, but also a bran-new angle.

Key words: Scientific spirit; Humanistic spirit; Integration route; Jobs

Yang, X. Y., & Sun, D. J. (2014). The New Route for integration between scientific spirits and humanistic spirit: With the Angle of Jobs. Studies in Sociology of Science, 5(3), -0. Available from: URL: /index.php/sss/article/view/4957

DOI: /10.3968/4957

INTRODUCTION

After Jobs died, he has attracted great attention at home and abroad and even has had such enormous impacts. The author thinks that the reason doesn’t lay in Jobs himself, but the “Apple” spirit with its representative, Jobs. Apple spirit has achieved high integration between scientific spirits and humanistic spirits, and the discussion of integration route can make great contributions to bridging the gaps between science and technology and culture, and also can promote the great development and prosperity of socialist cultures.

1. REVIEW THE ORIGINAL ROUTES OF THE INTEGRATION BETWEEN SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT AND HUMANISTIC SPIRIT

Although a consensus has been reached in the problem of achieving integration between scientific spirit and humanistic spirit by many scholars, discussers’ opinions are not totally consistent with disputes existing.

The view is expressed that: The essence of modern science crisis or modern civilization crisis is that science loses its humanistic significance, is science’s neglect to human existence, and is neglect of humanistic spirit in the view of science. Therefore, for the healthy and sustainable development of human and society, scientific spirit should be vigorously promoted. Through the rapid development of social productive forces, we should rebuild and inherit the roots of traditions and the specific denying spirit and criticism continuity that embody humanistic spirits, advance humane studies and humanistic education, energetically carry forward humanistic spirits, and facilitate the integration of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit (Hubei Academy of Social Sciences Research, 2005, p.115).

The view is expressed that: We must energetically carry forward scientific spirit and humanistic spirit, to facilitate the mixture and integration between scientific culture and humanistic culture. In the concept cognition, we should overcome despising science and technology in modern humanistic spirits and the conventional thinking that equals “scholar spirit” to humanistic spirit, and should advocate the ideas of thinking independently, suspecting and criticizing, and the spirits of devoting ourselves to truth. In the internal spirit world of humans, people are required to keep tension between rationality and irrationality. Both rationality and irrationality are essential attributes of humans, which should be kept internal unification. In the relations between human and the external world, people are required to comply with the overall trend of high technology of knowledge-based economy society and emotional balance development. In the human social practice, people should accelerate the interinfiltration and unification structure of scientific and technological culture and humanistic culture with aggressive spirit and practical actions (Liao & Zhou, 2004, p.10).

The view is expressed that: Either standardizing humanistic culture with science, or removing science with humanistic culture, does not benefit to the general prosperity and integrated development of humanistic cultures. For the integration of two kinds of cultures, except their mutual reference, infiltration and supplement, what is more important is the integration in cultural spirit, and they should be converged into a common spirit, which is the humanistic spirit with the core of pursing truth, goodness and beauty and other lofty values and ideals, and with ultimate objective of personal integrated development (Du, 1999, p.18).

From above three described routes, it is easy to find that they all seems hollow and powerless, and only limited to slogan without any realistic operability, in reverse, it embodies the innovation and operability of the integration routes between scientific spirit and humanistic spirit realized by Jobs who opened a new era of mankind.

2. TREAT NEW ROUTES OF ACHIEVING THE INTEGRATION BETWEEN SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT AND HUMANISTIC SPIRIT FROM JOBS

a) The grafting of art and science helps to realize the integration of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit. Three apples change the world: Eve’s apple gave morality to people, and Newton’s apple gave science to people, while Jobs’s apple gave lives to people. Jobs succeeded in his mind. Others achieve outstanding technology, while he realized the combination of technology and art. The biggest difference between Apple and other computer companies is that Apple always tries to grafting art and science, and its team has humanistic education background in Anthropology, art, history, poetry, etc. Just because Jobs achieved perfect combination with science and technology, art and lives creatively, those sciences in “the tower of ivory” can approach the public. He agglomerated science and technology, consumers, quality, global markets and even fashion factors with his innovative thinking, and created convenient, flexible, fashionable and interesting intelligent electronic products with his abundant sharp imagination. Consumers can communicate with friends and companies around the world with the mobile phone in their hands, which keeps computer technology and information spread moving with them around. Those products from Apple Company have irresistible charms, and bring revolutionary changes to the applied IT technology by people (“China calls for”, 2011). Several centuries later, when people review Apple, what is remembered by people is its idea and courage of lead a new age, and that Jobs integrated art into science and technology and people’s lives, and just his integration achieves the combination of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit.

b) The integration of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit is achieved in the confrontation and blend between rationality and non-rationality. Jobs had a personality of all-or-none thinking, stubborn, capricious and always extreme, which was reflected in his experience that never saw his birth father, refused to accept daughter and being rude to his subordinates in management. All of these shined through Jobs’ “non-rationality” spirit, and also explained that scientific spirit and humanistic spirit originally represented a discrete state in Jobs. Nietzsche was the pioneer of “non-rationality” spirit and affirmed the will existing in human itself. Furthermore, he believed life will had a sense of potency that surpassed itself, which was called the force of strong thought and spirit and will. It was the indispensable inner motivation for human to obtain freedom and create values. It is under the motivation of strong force which surpasses survival that human should constantly express themselves, expand themselves and transcend themselves, so as to realize the upsurge of vitality and experience the force and values higher than life (Jiang, 2002, p.70). Jobs was once regarded by many people as stubborn lunatic and fool, but he was the representative who was not discouraged in adversity, strived to start a business and innovate, and finally achieved success. His no-rationality spirit reflecting in his personality was that he dared to subvert the tradition, which gave him crazy innovative spirit. Based on this, he was humanistic spirit-oriented and followed principles of focus and simpleness, and finally located the ultimate purpose of innovation to the facilitation of human society historical development and benefits for human beings. He made the best of the APPLE thing. Apple products were in constant renewal and became the symbol of information era queerly, so that they changed the life-style of people. And Jobs united scientific spirit and humanistic spirit as a whole. It can be seen that, the level of inner spirit world of human required the tension between rationality and non-rationality among people. Rationality and non-rationality were both the essential attributes of human and should be intrinsically unified. The intrinsic conflicts between rationality and non-rationality themselves were the inner manifestation mode of outer world’s conflicts, and also intensify the differentiation and conflicts of the outer world. However, a wholesome human spirit should be the one intrinsically unified between rationality and non-rationality, which constituted the indivisible inner components of healthy human spirits (Liao & Zhou, 2004, p.10).

c) Humanization of technology products is the joint point of technology and humanity. The technology development and products production both have a basic precondition―the existence of human. All the technology products are “of people” and “for people”. It’s nonsense that talking about technology and products without people, which can be seen that technology products should be “human-centered”. In humanistic philosophy of Greek wise men, Protagoras put forwards philosophical epistemology principle centered on human, he thought all the true and false, right and wrong or value of everything was related to human. He said “human is the measure of all things. It’s the measure for both those who exist and those who don’t”. Western humanism regarded human as the standard to measure all things and attached attention to human’s pursuit of truth and goodness, appraised human’s values and dignity, advocated the pursuit of temporal happiness, and countered to the empirical philosophy centered on god and religious asceticism. Marxism paid much attention to human’s status and value, revealed human nature profoundly, and made the free and all-around development of human as the goal of liberation of mankind, as well as specified the required detailed conditions for the purpose of realizing this dream and goal (Peng & Huang, 2001, pp.55-66).

Standing on the shoulders of these giants, Jobs thought the truth was that, many of us were innovating today, but innovation was not what distinguished my career from others. We must bury a kind of humanistic spirit in this innovation. Based on this guidelines and concept, he proposed an important slogan “Apple would not make profits and benefits as our goals, but to create a more progressive space for technology in the aspects of humanity and actions for human”. It can be seen that the success of Apple did not lie on the most advanced technology and nearly perfect outlook design and brilliant marketing strategies, but on its pursuit of new joint points between technology and humanity, as well as humanized technology products. But these technology products no longer made people catering to machines any more, but made the system more comfortable for people and generate resonance, so as to realize the integration of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit.

3. PHILOSOPHICAL REFLECTION ON THE INTEGRATION OF SCIENTIFIC SPIRIT AND HUMANISTIC SPIRIT

Scientific spirit plays an?engine role in the integration of two spirits.?Humanistic spirit realizes guiding and balancing role towards?scientific spirit, they are two?dimensions of the human spirit and play different?roles and functions,?and scientism in western?emphasizes the importance of scientific spirit while the?humanism goes for humanistic spirit. Attaches great importance to the integration between science and humanism, Marx, in his view,?division of?science and the?humanism?was temporary. “Natural science in the future will include?humanism, just like?humanism will?include natural science” (Marx & Engels, 1979, p.128). In the process of innovation practice,?Jobs?realized the integration of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit through crossing of?art and science; he highlighted?innovative way of integration and?in accordance with?ontology of praxis. Marx built historical materialism and?ontology of praxis based on integration of?scientific and humanistic spirit. He?criticized?alienation?of the inhumane conditions in?capitalist society and described?basic features of the society on this basis, relied?transformation of the reality and realization of?ideal society on the?basis of the material production practice of totality (Zhang, 2003, p.7).

Although?scientific spirit and humanistic spirit?once separated in history, but nowadays under the material achievements of?science and technology, people have realized that?negative effects of science and technology?violated the original intention of science and technology when in the pursuit of scientific spirit, they began to review the relationship between human and?science and technology, called for?integration of scientific spirit and humanistic spirit. It also highlighted importance of exploring new patch for integration of?scientific spirit and humanistic spirit, but it’s not difficult to find that they are all seemingly?tenuous and lack of?operability. However,?through the humanized concept on technology products, Jobs found the?joint point between?science and technology and?humanity. Raising high tech and high emotion to experience level, integrating technology and?humanity, combining strength of material and mental together, to find innovative way realizing integration of?scientific and?humanistic spirit inspires us to learn and imitate.

We have to face the opposition of?humanities and science and technology in real society, there’s no before and after, high and low between?scientific spirit and humanistic spirit, both are core of?human spirit. It’s wrong to?overemphasize importance of?scientific spirit and give up humanistic spirit,?and?vice versa. It has been proved that:

scientific spirit without?humanistic spirit is not true sense of?scientific spirit, while?human spirit without?scientific spirit is also?incomplete. People must find a way to combine?science and other part of our?culture but not use it as a tool has nothing to do with our culture.?Science must be with human nature, which means that at least you cannot allow it on the rampage. It must be part of our culture and services for the rest parts always. (Ding, 2008, p.37)

Therefore,?rebuilding?contemporary scientific spirit and?humanistic spirit, integrating and keeping?essential tension can?truly bridge in the gap between science and technology and culture, push forward?sustained, healthy development of socialist culture construction and finally?realize the great development and prosperity of socialist culture.

CONCLUSION

There is a phenomenon in the history of science: The great scientists often love the arts and humanities. Einstein is a great violinist; Planck’s good at playing the piano, Galileo and Newton are fond of poetry writing. Chinese geologist li siguang learned composer, mathematicians Su Buqing, Hua Luogeng, Gu chaohao love classical poetry. As for Qian Xuesen blow the horn, playing the piano, obsessed with classical music but also well known. These seemingly unrelated to their professional arts and humanities not only make their personality health, a more open mind sharp. Research has shown that, the more one is versed in Arts and humanities, the probability of becoming an inventors and innovators greater. American Michigan State University professor Bernstein survey found that the vast majority of Nobel winning scientists are art activists. Creative talents only grow under?environment where?suitable for them, creating?growth environment?conducive to creative talents, it is now the most important thing for China.

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China calls for “jobs” innovation talents. (2011, October 8). Hong Kong Wen Wei Po.

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