The Two Cultures (Canto)

The Two Cultures (Canto)

By: C. P. Snow  

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Average Customer Rating: 3.0 out of 5

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Customer Review: 3 out of 5
Must read for anyone interested in the culture wars - This is the classic essay that brought into focus the contrast between the "two cultures," i.e. the sciences and the humanities. It simply is a must read for anyone who is seriously interested in the recent and to some extent still ongoing culture wars, in particular the clash between postmodernism and scientism. Snow's original lecture constitutes the central part of this book, but the historical preface is just as valuable to provide the reader with the proper context and follow-up to the controversy. I found Snow's own update, on the other hand, rather superfluous. It was probably written too soon after the original, without leaving sufficient time for interesting developments to unfold. The Kindle edition is well formatted.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
The Two Cultures - I read the original as a convocation assignment when i went off to college in 1963. The history update in this volume is very useful and interseting to me. The original concept is also still interesting which probably means it is a good book as well as an influential one for education.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Arguments about taking social responsibility - In this book, Sir Charles P. Snow examines what he sees as a splitting of the intelligentsia into two subcultures, the literary and the scientific. He cites anecdotal evidence of how ignorant literary figures are concerning fundamental scientific principles and how few works of literature have been read by the typical scientist. Snow is certainly qualified to see both sides of this issue. During World War II, he was in charge of the British program of scientific recruitment and is a first-class novelist. He also notes conservative/liberal tendencies among various groups within the scientific community.
He is of course correct, but the splitting is an inevitable consequence of the advance of science. As the amount of knowledge about a field of science grows, it takes more time and effort to succeed in the field. With the increase in commitment, there is less time for the individual to pursue other interests. However, that is not a wholly satisfactory excuse. Scientists are also part of the human condition and are almost always members of the advantaged class. Snow argues that they should be cognizant of the plight of the poor around the world and understand their moral obligation to try to alleviate poverty.
Scientists are often and justifiably considered to possess an intellectually narrow focus. Snow is very articulate in pointing out that society is damaged when some of the best and brightest remove themselves from the search for solutions to the current problems. Even though great advances have taken place in science in the forty years since Snow put forward these observations, they are just as valid as they were then. There is a lot of common ground between the literary and scientific communities, and Snow explains why it is critical that both sides occupy as much of it as possible. All people who are concerned with the problems of modern society should read this book.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
historic document, with intro essay - The Two Cultures is probably more famous as an idea which ignited discussion than as the lecture it is. This edition of C.P. Snow's classic includes a brilliant introduction by Stefan Collini. I'm surprised that none of the other reviewers mention this portion of the edition, a substantial 64 pages, because for me it was the most interesting read. That is, only after having read The Two Cultures and a follow-up essay by Snow and pondered what may still apply today in his argument I went back and read the Collini. His introduction put Snow's work in its proper historical contexts (those of post-war Britain as well as Snow's own life) and updates us with some of the major points of the historical discourse that followed. I recommend that Collini's essay is read after Snow's, and together they make a very fine read.

Customer Review: 4 out of 5
Always a Tradeoff - Integration Should Be The Goal - C.P. Snow argues about two cultures he was personally part of: the literary intellectuals and the science intellectuals. And in these two cultures there is a serious lack of communication and inter subjective knowledge. While this may be true, I find it's a very limited argument and fails to take in the many different subcultures that may or may not be the strength of industrialization but nevertheless influences the social and cultural whole of the both the countries and world we know of. Also disregarded is Western civilization's pragmatism that has permeated since the enlightenment, the ideas of separation of religion and state are also applied to all teachings apart from the universals of liberty, individual rights and the pursuit of happiness. So the scientists will lack in the social and literary fields, while the literary and cultural intellectuals will lack in the technological fields. Specialization has most certainly increased from the medieval period to the Renaissance to the Industrial revolution and scientific achievements, to the current information age, although this book was written well before in 1959 and 1963.

Integration is necessary to reach planetary unity and peace, however degrees of compartmentalization are required to technologize the world. So there has to be some balance here. Snow does make a well-known point in the comparisons of industrialized nations verses the undeveloped and there is a clear different in the level of living conditions. Capital, manpower and educative resources are required in all countries for integration to occur.

I agree that man is much better off in the industrialized nations as opposed to those that are not, however, much of the agricultural societies that existed prior to the Renaissance and Enlightenment were from a self-employed collective society that lacked the existential despair and Anst from lack of security that we have so prevalent today. Thus they existed in far more psychological security and there's much to be said on that for the human psyche. To be a self-employed artisan over a low paid factory employee, this is the result and it was not always favorable. There is a trade-off and the demystification and desacredization are serious and profound negative consequences in our modern technological society. Feudal agricultural and superstition have left but the radical wonder and appreciative amazement of childlike marvel with fascination and curiosity have long gone as well.

However Snow makes a good argument on the stupidity of any groups that have power and influence over society. Such groups should not lack in either literary and technological knowledge - as the majority of the leaders of our government do today, and the public for that matter, thus endorsing many (not all) inadequate governmental decisions based on surface and shallow reasonings. And thus we have overpopulation, destruction of the environment, nuclear weapons, and religious absolutism, the loss of pragmatism, cultural warfare and so forth.

Also, I didn't particularly care for the writing style of this book and had trouble digesting it. If it was written less arbitrarily, with fewer words I think it would be even much smaller than it already is, but more tolerable as well.

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