In The Scientific Outlook (1931), Bertrand Russell gives his own view on science: what is scientific knowledge? What is the relation between science and technique? And how would a scientific society look like?
It is important to realize that this book was written in the 1920's, and whenever Russell talks about science, he talks about the science of his own day. Nevertheless, there are some gems of insight to be found in this book.
The book itself is divided into three parts. In part 1, Russell explains what scientific knowledge is. He uses the examples of Gallilei, Newton, Darwin and Pavlov to describe what makes good science. It is interesting to note that in Russell's time, Darwin's theory of natural selection was deemed to be wrong. We can see - albeit with hinsight - that he couldn't be further from the truth.
According to Russell, the scientific method is inference (i.e. induction) and even though this will never be proven to be logically consistent, it is pragmatically the only thing that works. How do we know this? Well, it lets us control nature and turn her to work for us. He also outlines the limits of the scientific method and sketches the love-hate relationship between religion and science.
In the second part, Russell delves into techniques made possible by (then new) scientific knowledge. He mentions examples such as higher agricultural production due to inorganic (synthetic) compounds like nitrate, the control of pests, the use of electricity, etc. A curious fact is that Russell seems to see a major future for physiological techniques such as embryo selection and artificial insemination. He had a sharp mind, and with it foresaw many of the ethical problems that plague 21st century Western countries. Another thing he foresaw was the mass application of psychological techniques in areas such as advertising, education and propaganda.
I should add that throughout the book, Russell seems to believe in the truth of Freud's psychoanalysis, and he even ventures to claim that Freud's theory and Pavlov's mechanism of conditioned reflexes (and in a wider sense, Watson's behaviourism) are the same theory in different disguises. Freud has been falsified on many accounts; on the points where he was right, his argumentation is non-scientific and hence has been surpassed by modern explanations. (For example, Freud's emhpasis on sexual drive as psychological mechanism has been vindicated by modern day evolutionary psychology, but on entirely different - and scientific - grounds).
In the last part of the book, Russell sets out to explain the society of the near future. He seems to envision a world government that consists of individuals who long for power (the contemplative philosopher has, of course, no lust to govern) and will use science as a tool to dominate the world.
Russell really goes to great lengths in describing how such a world of articially created societies would lead to eugenics, submission of individuals to the whole, constant propaganda and education that is mean to create docile and content creatures. He leaves room for the most intelligent, who - of course - will be raised differently and will be trained in science, gymnastics and will-power. When of age, they will be put to research work and the two classes will not mingle with eachother.
People are allowed to have sexal intercourse, yet they will not create children, since the government has sterilized all the lower class workers. Only the best 25% of the women and the best 5% of the men will make children. This sounds like Plato's Republic in a 20th century dress. At the end of part three, he even suggests the invention of drugs that will surpass anything we know so far and will leave all human beings in a trance-like state of happiness, except for the 4-6 hours they have to work. Russell's vision of the artificially created society sounds terrifyingly similar as Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (he even mentions this book in the preface to the second edition).
It is important to realize that Russell's doesn't advocate such a society, he only tries to envision a future society run by power hungry individuals, who use science to achieve their ends. He mentions Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia as illustrations of where this mindset can lead. (And rightly so). In the last chapter of The Scientific Outlook, Russell clearly states that science and values (i.e. ethics) are two separate domains. The scientist should continue his/her pursuit of knowledge, and we human beings should make the right decisions about what we do with the knowledge we possess.
The key line of thought in this book is the gradual shift in mankind from a search for knowledge to a search for power. Mankind originally set out to know the world; with the accumulation of knowledge grew its mastery over nature; this led to an obsession with power. Man wants to control nature, hence the emphasis on scientific technique or applied science instead of pure science. This can easily spiral out of control, since we are just a species of homo sapiens with good and bad sides.
To end this review, I'll let Russell speak for himself:
"Man has been disciplined hitherto by his subjection to nature. Having emancipated himself from this subjection, he is showing something of the defects of slave-turned-master. A new moral outlook is called for in which submission to the powers of nature is replaced by respect for what is best in man. It is where this respect is lacking that scientific technique is dangerous. So long as it is present, science, having delivered man from bondage to nature, can proceed to deliver him from bondage to the slavish part of himself. The dangers exist, but they are not inevitable, and hope for the future is at least as rational as fear." (p. 202)