Why does the idea of progress loom so large in the modern world? Surely
because progress of a particular kind is actually taking place around us and
is becoming more and more manifest. Although mankind has undergone no general
improvement in intelligence or morality, it has made extraordinary progress in
the accumulation of knowledge. Knowledge began to increase as soon as the
thoughts of one individual could be communicated to another by means of
speech. With the invention of writing, a great advance was made, for knowledge
could then be not only communicated but also stored. Libraries made education
possible, and education in its turn added to libraries: the growth of
knowledge followed a kind of compound interest law, which was greatly enhanced
by the invention of printing. All this was comparatively slow until, with the
coming of science, the tempo was suddenly raised. Then knowledge began to be
accumulated according to a systematic plan. The trickle became a stream; the
stream has now become a torrent. Moreover, as soon as new knowledge is
acquired, it is now turned to practical account. What is called 'modern
civilization' is not the result of a balanced development of all man's nature,
but of accumulated knowledge applied to practical life. The problem now facing
humanity is: What is going to be done with all this knowledge? As is so often
pointed out, knowledge is a two-edged weapon which can be used equally for
good or evil. It is now being used indifferently for both. Could any
spectacle, for instance, be more grimly whimsical than that of gunners using
science to shatter men's bodies while, close at hand, surgeons use it to
restore them? We have to ask ourselves very seriously what will happen if this
twofold use of knowledge, with its ever-increasing power, continues.&