Peter Atkins rocks the RI

Peter Atkins answers questions after his talk on the limits of science at the Royal Institution on Tuesday 22nd March 2011

The famous horseshoe-shaped lecture theatre of the Royal Institution was almost full for Oxford Chemist Peter Atkins to address the issue of the limits of science. But instead of giving a talk, he simply read passages from his new book, On Being, including most the prologue and selections from various chapters.

Atkins, whose ex-wife is ex-director of the RI, was introduced by Ian Douglas from The Telegraph. The take-home message was that there are no limits to science. In principle, science can address all the 'big questions' once ring-fenced by religion i.e. the origin of the universe, of life, of morality, of consciousness, and of spiritual experience. He then faced some hostile questions from a philosopher, a creationist, a Christian Scientist, etc and others who are skeptical about Atkins' hard-core scientism stance. Each brief exchange brought a muttering or approval or disapproval from the audience depending on their allegiances. Atkins is known as a brave straight-talking atheist that doesn't disguise his sentiments in politically-correct language, flowery sophistry, or accommodationalist qualifications. It's not just religious thinking that Atkins has no patience for, it's all the hand-waving in academic philosophy which he believes has an intrinsic pessimism that undermines the case for science.


As an audience event, however, it was a somewhat disappointing evening. No matter what one's opinions on the content, sixty minutes of reading from a book is inexcusable in this age of modern science communication. There is a world of difference in the quality of engagement between written prose and speaking to an audience. 

See Peter Atkins discuss his book On Being here