Preface: Nullius in Verba

The strange history of phage therapy

Since the enlightenment, scientists have enjoyed a self-image as rational actors, guided only by reason, evidence and logic. When the Royal Society of London was founded in 1660 it chose as its motto "nullius in verba" (often translated as "on the word of no one") a reference to Horace's Epistles "Nullius addictus iurare in verba magistri…" (being not obliged swear allegiance to any master). Si...

G.W. Leibniz and scientific societies

Efficient scientific study requires organized cooperation between scholars, as well in contemporary science as in the past. The famous philosopher, G. W. Leibniz (1646-1716) regarded as his models for the scientific organizations The Royal Society (founded in 1660) and The Royal Science Academy of France (founded in 1666). 1 These societies were mainly interested in practical applications, alth...

Political activism : New challenges , new opportunities

Research on political activism compares the ways that citizens participate, the processes that lead them to do so, and the consequences of these acts. The standard paradigm was established in earlier decades by the seminal works in the social psychological tradition: Gabriel A. Almond and Sidney Verba’s The Civic Culture: Political Attitudes and Democracy in Five Nations (1963), Sidney Verba an...

George Lyman Duff memorial lecture. Cholesterol revisited. Molecule, medicine, and media.

T he past year has been truly extraordinary. Not only has there been astonishing medical and public health interest in cholesterol, but the term cholesterol has been brought by the media into common culture and consciousness in quite surprising ways. How did this happen? And what are its implications for science, for medicine, and for public health and policy? This evening I will try to address...

Preface