Science and Industry Change the Western World

Science and Industry are changed by the Western World. There have been different kinds of revolutions in history. Revolutions of subjects against all powerful kings, of colonies against mother countries, of divided peoples against foreign rulers. Here we describe other revolutions — in transportation and communication, in industry and agriculture, in man’s knowledge and ways of living. Most of these changes were made possible because scientific knowledge progressed more rapidly in the last 200 years than in all previous recorded history. Since advances in science and industry form a background for events described earlier, we carry on the story through to recent times.

The beginnings of science. It tells how pioneer scientists developed scientific methods and discovered important natural laws. The application of scientific principles led to discoveries and inventions which revolutionized ways of living in western Europe and the United States.

History tells how revolutionary changes in ways of living brought problems as well as benefits. During the 1800’s, reforms were introduced in Great Britain and the United States to bring about peaceful solutions to such problems. In countries where reforms lagged, discontented people came to believe that only violent uprisings or community ownership could bring about better living conditions. Literature and the other arts not only pictured new ways of living, but called attention to conditions which needed to be improved.

History describes scientific progress in the first half of the 1900’s and the more healthful, comfortable and interesting life which has been made possible for most people in the Western World. In our own day the extent of man’s knowledge raises questions of human survival at the same time that it promises better ways of living for all.