Like many other people I've been
saddened by Stephen Hawking’s death. Having expressed my feelings on social
media like Twitter and Google Plus, I wanted to go somewhat further here and
briefly note some places that address discourses relating the so called hard
sciences—such as Hawking’s field of theoretical physics—and the artistic and
literary disciplines. Because due to ethical concerns the divide between these
different modes is too often stressed and creates unnecessary tensions.
You may recall that in taking his
ideas into non-expert books Hawking was often criticised for excessive
popularisation of complex ideas. I think it quite obvious that in fact he was
engaged in attempts to clarify matters and do away with precisely the type of
tension I’ve referred to. He might have added that he also wanted to clarify
energies.
So what I’m trying to say is that I
hope we can all continue in our own similar attempts to clarify, different as
they may be. Some of the places I’ve found that lend themselves to continued
activity along these lines are the following, all of them with presence on the
internet:
British Society for Literature and
Science
European Society for Literature,
Science and the Arts
Society for Literature, Science, and
the Arts (U.S.A.)
Empyre Listserv
Virginia Woolf Listserv
