The Ethic of Freethought: A Selection of Essays and Lectures

Karl Pearson was a substantial figure in progressive scientific circles in England in the 1880s. A trained barrister, Pearson had also studied mathematics, physics and engineering, and after spending some time at the bar, took a post lecturing in mathematics at University College, London, in 1884. In addition, he lectured to working-class audiences and published on socialism and ''freethought;'' that is, the notion that scientific knowledge and an understanding of processes of social evolution, based on biological research, freed the individual to develop a high standard of morality and personal integrity. Pearson's was an all-embracing philosophy of science, with far wider connotations than simply the practice of science itself. For him, ... science, no less than theology or philosophy, is the field for personal influence, for the creation of enthusiasm; and for the establishment of ideals of self-discipline and self-development. No man becomes great in science from the mere force of intellect, unguided and unaccompanied by what really amount to moral force. Behind the intellectual capacity there is the devotion to truth, the deep sympathy with nature, and the determination to sacrifice all minor matters to one great end.