The Relationship of the Humanities to the Sciences

The American Academy, with its continuing commitment to interdisciplinary research, has long recognized the importance of the sciences in shaping the topics and methods of research in the humanities. Recent initiatives have helped move the discussion of the disciplines beyond the traditional dichotomy of the "two cultures" to examine the ways that scientific and humanistic investigations can complement or enhance rather than compete with or contradict one another. Realizing that the future of the humanities will be no less bound up with the sciences than was their past, the Academy seeks opportunities to promote a productive and informed dialogue.

As part of this initiative, Academy Fellow and historian of science Mary Jo Nye directed a planning group examining the common aspirations, points of divergence, and interdependence of the sciences and the humanities. Participants, including scientists, humanities scholars, and historians of science, recommended a series of measures to foster conversations among Academy Fellows across disciplinary lines. The Academy will use its meetings and research workshops to promote current work by Academy Fellows that may stimulate such dialogues. Recent examples include a Stated Meeting featuring Peter Galison, "Einstein's Clocks, Poincare's Maps," and another on the topic "Russian Religious Mystics and French Rationalists: Mathematics, 1900-1930," with Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor.

The Visiting Scholars Program also provides opportunities for emerging scholars to engage in research projects exploring the relationships between the sciences and the humanities.

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