The Enlightenment and the Birth of Modern Science Policy

The Enlightenment was the period in which modern science policy first took shape. The institutional infrastructure of modern science — the academies, the learned societies, the research universities, the various other organizations that support the scientific enterprise — was developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and the basic principles of modern science policy — the public support of science, the international cooperation of scientists, the public communication of scientific knowledge — were established in the Enlightenment. This article examines the development of modern science policy in the Enlightenment, including the institutional infrastructure, the patronage of science, and the relationship between science and the state.

The Academies and Learned Societies

The academies and learned societies of the Enlightenment were the institutional infrastructure of the new science. They provided a forum for the discussion of new discoveries, a vehicle for the publication of new research, and a source of patronage for scientists.

The most important of the academies was the Royal Society of London, founded in 1660. The Royal Society was a voluntary association of “natural philosophers” who met regularly to hear papers, conduct experiments, and correspond with fellow members. The Society published the Philosophical Transactions, the first scientific journal, and it served as a model for the various other academies that were established in the eighteenth century.

The French Academy of Sciences, founded in 1666, was a state-supported institution with a salaried body of members. The Academy was a center of the new science in France, and it played a major role in the development of the French scientific tradition.

The Berlin Academy, the Saint Petersburg Academy, and the other Continental academies were established in the eighteenth century, often under the patronage of the enlightened monarchs who wished to promote the new science. The academies were important centers of scientific research and scientific communication, and they helped to establish the international network of the scientific community.

The various other learned societies that were established in the eighteenth century — the Lunar Society of Birmingham, the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society, the American Philosophical Society, and many others — were also important centers of scientific activity. The societies brought together the leading scientists of the various regions, and they helped to establish the local scientific communities that were the foundation of the modern scientific enterprise.

The Patronage of Science

The patronage of science was an important feature of the Enlightenment. The various monarchs, ministers, and wealthy patrons of the eighteenth century provided the financial support that was necessary for the development of the new science.

The most important patron of the Enlightenment was Frederick the Great of Prussia, who was himself a philosopher-king and who made Berlin one of the major centers of the Enlightenment. Frederick supported the Berlin Academy, patronized the leading philosophers and scientists of the day, and made his court a model of the enlightened monarchy that the philosophes had advocated.

Catherine the Great of Russia was another important patron of the Enlightenment. Catherine supported the Saint Petersburg Academy, corresponded with the leading French philosophes including Diderot, and attempted to introduce the principles of the Enlightenment into the Russian legal and administrative system.

The other enlightened monarchs of the eighteenth century — Charles III of Spain, Joseph II of Austria, the various others who attempted to introduce the principles of the Enlightenment into their kingdoms — were also important patrons of science. The patronage of the monarchs was a major factor in the development of the institutional infrastructure of the new science.

The Public Communication of Science

The Enlightenment was also the period in which the public communication of science first took shape. The popular lectures, the demonstration experiments, the various forms of public engagement with the new science were developed in the eighteenth century, and they were an important feature of the Enlightenment commitment to the dissemination of knowledge.

The public lectures in the various cities of Europe were an important venue for the popularization of the new science. The lecturers, often associated with the academies and the universities, gave public demonstrations of the new discoveries, and they helped to make the new science accessible to a wide audience.

The demonstration experiments, often conducted in the public squares or in the private homes of the wealthy, were another important venue for the popularization of the new science. The experiments, often involving electricity, chemistry, or the various other branches of the new science, were a popular form of entertainment, and they helped to spread the new science to a wide audience.

The various popular works of science — the popular treatises, the encyclopedias, the various other forms of public communication of the new science — were also important for the dissemination of the new knowledge. The popular works made the new science accessible to readers who did not have the technical background to read the specialized works, and they helped to create a public for the new science.

The Relationship Between Science and the State

The relationship between science and the state was an important feature of the Enlightenment, and it has continued to shape the development of modern science policy.

The Enlightenment thinkers, especially the French philosophes, argued that the proper relationship between science and the state was one of mutual support. The state, in their view, should support the development of the new science, and the new science, in turn, should provide the state with the knowledge necessary for the proper governance of the community.

The proper governance, in the view of the Enlightenment thinkers, required the application of the new science to the various practical problems of the political and social life. The new science, in their view, was the proper instrument for the improvement of agriculture, the development of industry, the proper management of the natural resources, and the various other practical problems that the state had to address.

The proper support of the new science, in the view of the Enlightenment thinkers, required the establishment of the various institutions of the scientific life — the academies, the universities, the research institutes — that were necessary for the proper development of the new science. The state, in their view, should provide the financial support for these institutions, and should ensure that the various other conditions necessary for the proper development of the new science were in place.

The proper relationship between science and the state, in the view of the Enlightenment thinkers, was one of mutual support, and the proper development of the new science required the active engagement of the state in the support of the scientific enterprise.

The Lasting Influence

The modern science policy that has developed since the Enlightenment is, a continuation of the basic principles that the Enlightenment established. The contemporary public support of science, the contemporary international cooperation of scientists, the contemporary public communication of scientific knowledge — all of these are descendants of the Enlightenment approach to science policy.

The most important lasting influence is on the development of the modern research university. The contemporary research university, with its combination of teaching and research, its seminar method of instruction, its laboratory as a research environment, and its various other features, is a direct descendant of the German university tradition that was developed in the Enlightenment. The contemporary practice of scientific research, with its emphasis on the systematic investigation of natural phenomena and the publication of the results, is a direct descendant of the Enlightenment approach to the scientific enterprise.

The second most important lasting influence is on the development of the modern relationship between science and the state. The contemporary practice of the public support of science, the contemporary recognition of the importance of the basic research for the proper functioning of the modern economy, the contemporary commitment to the international cooperation of scientists — all of these are descendants of the Enlightenment approach to the relationship between science and the state.

Further Reading

• The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (plato.stanford.edu), relevant entry
• Mark Goldie & Robert Wokler, eds., The Cambridge History of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought (2006)
• Terence Ball, Reappraising Political Theory (1995)