Extracts from the Messenger Lectures

(Part 4 of 4 in our series marking the fiftieth anniversary of Pauling’s delivery of the Messenger Lectures.)

For our final post on Linus Pauling’s 1959 Messenger Lecture series, we have compiled a number of quotations from the talks themselves and from his own personal preparatory notes.  These excerpts highlight the most significant elements of Pauling’s Messenger talks.

Linus Pauling on…

…Evolution

…the last great step in evolution was the mutational process that doubled the size of the brain, 700,000 years ago – that this mutation represented the origin of man…this mutation permitted the inheritance of acquired characteristics of a certain sort – of learning, through communication from one human being to another; so that abilities that have not yet been incorporated into the germ plasm are not lost until their rediscovery, but are handed on from person to person, from generation to generation.  It is this result of man’s great powers of thinking and remembering and communicating that have been responsible for the evolution of civilization.

…The Human Race

…a man or woman is not truly an organism, in the sense that a rabbit is, or a lion, or a whale; but that he is a part of a greater organism – the whole of mankind, into which he is bound by the means of communication – speech, writing, airplanes – in the way that the cells of a rabbit are interconnected by nerve fibers and hormonal molecular messengers.

From the standpoint of the great human organism as a single entity, its survival or non-survival might be independent of the degree of suffering of some of its constituent units; but the consciousness that exists in the world is that of the units, and the organism is hardly more than the sum of these units, despite their interconnection and interdependence.

…Peace

…we must now achieve the mutation that will bring sanity to this great organism, the organism that is mankind.

As man makes further progress in a world of peace and reason, in which the problem of the struggle for existence has been largely solved, he will have more and more opportunity to devote himself to the activities that give him the greatest satisfaction and happiness.  I believe that without doubt thinking will be the most important of these activities for those people who are endowed by heredity with excellent encephalonic activity.

Now morality must win out in the world.  Now survival means survival of the whole human organism – it depends on whether or not we can work for the common good.  The old evolutionary method, the ‘survival of the fittest,’ is now not significant unless we consider Earth vs. other planets with intelligent life.  In our negotiations we may need a new Golden Rule:  ‘Do unto others 20% better than you would have them do unto you – to make up for subjective error, personal bias.’

…Thinking and Philosophy

The world is now going through an interesting period of its development when thinking is becoming an important activity for many people.  There are now many people in the world who find much pleasure in thinking, and who also have thinking as their profession.

People who are not scientists and who do not have enough of an understanding of science to appreciate the significance of new discoveries are restricted in their opportunities for finding happiness through thinking.  The world of activities of man, in his social, political, and economic relationships with his kind, is much more limited and in a sense much more artificial than the world of nature.

Click here for all of our posts on the Messenger Lectures.  For more information on Linus Pauling, please visit the Pauling Online Portal or the OSU Special Collections Homepage.

The Molecular Theory of Civilization

(Part 3 of 4 in our series marking the fiftieth anniversary of Pauling’s delivery of the Messenger Lectures.)

At the heart of Pauling’s Messenger Lectures was his newly established theory which he referred to simply as the “molecular basis of civilization.”  Through his work as a chemist, Pauling had developed a belief that the seeming randomness of life could be traced down to the molecular level where macroscopic problems, like violence and disease, could be explained.

Pauling explained that the first molecules resulted from photo- and electrochemical reactions.  Some of these molecules became autocatalytic, or self-duplicating, while others were broken down and reformed into different molecules, with each molecule competing for atomic particles that would allow for further self-duplication.

As this duplication and competition continued, the newly formed molecules began to evolve according to the abundance of various elements.  Eventually, mutations allowed these molecules to begin manufacturing smaller molecules to be used as “food” for the growing molecular colonies.  These molecules continued to mutate, eventually developing into organisms ranging from bacteria to complex mammals such as humans.  Joints, organs, nervous systems, and brains all appeared following millions of years of molecular evolution.

Pauling claimed that memories, for example, were one of the most significant results of evolution in history.  Pauling explained that when the human brain size doubled – approximately 700,000 years ago – humans developed the ability to create, maintain, and share memories. He described this phenomenon as the first example of “the inheritance of acquired characteristics.”  Ephemeral and long-term memory, he said, are the basis of civilization.  Without them, speech, invention, and the communication of long-term knowledge would all be virtually impossible.

According to Pauling, this increase in human brain size was the last great evolutionary moment in human history, and that the achievement of long-term memory and communication marked a completely new moment for life.  The ability to communicate information, he said, transformed the human race into a single organism connected through our collective knowledge.

From there, Pauling argued that, for the human race to thrive, evolution must continue. In his final lecture at Cornell, he exhorted that “we must now achieve the mutation that will bring sanity to this great organism, the organism that is mankind.”  Pauling admitted that a mutation allowing greater empathy among humans (he suggested extrasensory perception as an example) had the potential to be highly effective.  Unfortunately, in his view, the human race may well not survive long enough to enjoy another highly beneficial mutation along those lines.  Instead, he argued that the next “mutation” must be a mutation of conscience in human thought that would allow for widespread elimination of suffering via cooperation and shared interest in the advancement of human well-being.

Pauling argued that this change in human thought, however far outside our traditional understanding of evolution, is deeply connected with Darwinian theory.  He explained that a mass restructuring of values across the human race would accomplish the ultimate goal of physical evolution by allowing for the survival and even growth of the human race.  What’s more, he explained that this evolution of the mind corresponded directly with the earlier evolution of the brain.

Over the next decade, Pauling continued to refer to this next step – sometimes called conscious evolution – as a means of encouraging a wide variety of practices including nuclear disarmament, the control of hereditary genetic abnormalities, and the development of an international governing body.  In fact, he closed his final Messenger Lecture with a brief talk on the importance of international peace and the need to end human suffering, encouraging his audience to actively seek a heightened sense of communal responsibility.

Following the lecture series, it was traditional for the guest speaker to partner with Cornell University Press for a print release of the talks.  Though not a requirement of the lectureship, this partnership gave the Press some exposure and allowed the lecturer’s work to be more widely circulate, making it an ideal situation for both parties.  Pauling believed his talks to be suitable for publication and, in late 1959, began to collect his notes and resources accordingly.

Unfortunately, the book never materialized.  In 1960, Pauling was subpoenaed by the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee and embroiled in a long and unpleasant series of investigations into his patriotism.  From there, his peace work took over, leaving little time for other activities.  It seems that the Messenger publication was simply neglected amidst the press of greater issues.  Nevertheless, Pauling’s papers include a substantial collection of his Messenger notes and manuscripts, affording us a glimpse at the philosophical questions that stimulated and intrigued Pauling during his most politically active years.

Click here for all of our posts on the Messenger Lectures.  For more information on Linus Pauling, please visit the Linus Pauling Portal or the OSU Special Collections homepage.

Science and Philosophy

(Part 2 of 4 in our series marking the fiftieth anniversary of Pauling’s delivery of the Messenger Lectures.)

Above all else, Linus Pauling considered himself to be a man of rational thought. The Ava Helen and Linus Pauling Papers are filled notebooks and manuscripts detailing Pauling’s ideas on practical manners (such as reflective road signs), matters of legality and morality (including diversity and racism in the United States), and philosophical questions (such as this refutation of solipsism). Over the course of his long life, Pauling trained himself to think critically about every question within his reach, even going so far as to advocate thinking about problems through dreams.

In his first Messenger Lecture, entitled “Science and Philosophy,” Pauling chose to approach philosophy itself through the lens of hard science. In order to do so, however, he first found it necessary to define science. “Science,” he claimed, is the “knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of the world.” He argued that appreciation, defined as an “accurate perception, true estimation, [or] evaluation” is a key component of science in that it requires the scientist to be able to both collect and interpret facts and to critically evaluate the value (be it practical, moral, or other) of that interpretation.

Unlike some of his contemporaries, Pauling actively engaged in intellectual conversations outside of his own field of expertise. In particular, he found himself drawn to philosophy and became interested in the work of philosophers of science such as Alfred Stern and, later, Karl Popper. The Messenger Lectures allowed him to focus this interest and apply it to a structured, well-developed dialogue with his fellow intellectuals. Rather than building his talks on a foundation of opinions and personal experiences, Pauling chose to rely on the works of established philosophers, approaching their writings and ideas through the lens of his scientific training.

Citing P.W. Bridgman’s The Way Things Are, Pauling argued that philosophy can act to challenge the significance of self and, in some cases, both depress and demean the human spirit. “I myself,” he claimed, “have been depressed by the old philosophical writings. Now I no longer am depressed, because I think that I understand them, and that I can now decide how they should be interpreted, and how much time and effort should be devoted to them.”

Pauling found that, despite his lack of training as a philosopher, he could in fact approach complex philosophical concepts.

He explained that “The basic fact is that philosophy must be based on science – it includes science (the relation of man as subject and the objective world includes the nature of the objective world).” While he did not argue that philosophy is itself a science, he suggested that science – what Pauling referred to as “the study of the world in an objective manner” – necessarily affects our core understanding of philosophy. As such, he claimed that the disciplines of philosophy and science should be merged, allowing the tenets of scientific methodology to guide philosophical thought.

Finally, he concluded that, “Philosophy is the subjective study of the world by man.” Everyone, he said, studies the world in some way, be it through profession, hobby, or simple curiosity. Therefore, anyone who hopes to reach some measure of truth, and is willing to apply their intellect to this search, may call themselves a philosopher, regardless of background or training.

Click here for all of our posts on the Messenger Lectures.  For more information on Linus Pauling, please visit the Linus Pauling Online Portal or the Special Collections homepage.

The Messenger Lectures

Linus Pauling, 1958

[Ed note: October 2009 marks the fiftieth anniversary of Linus Pauling's delivery of the Messenger Lectures at Cornell University. This is part one of a four post series discussing participation in the Messenger series.]

The Messenger Lectures on the Evolution of Civilization, better know simply as the Messenger Lectures, is a prestigious lectureship hosted by Cornell University.  Upon the 1924 death of Hiram Messenger, a Travelers’ Insurance Company actuary and graduate of Cornell University, a portion of his fortune was bequeathed to Cornell, his alma mater.  The following year, Cornell began its now famous Messenger Lecture series, defining it as “a course of lectures on the evolution of civilization, for the special purpose of raising the moral standards of our political, business, and social life.”

In 1925, James Henry Breasted, a historian-archaeologist made famous by his work in the Middle East, delivered the first Messenger lecture.  In his talk, he explored the implications of moral growth in the human race through a study of ancient European and Egyptian societies.  His scholarly, introspective lectures which married the history of science and philosophy, set the tone for future speakers.

Since 1925, a great number of intellectuals have served as Messenger lecturers.  Over the course of the lectureship’s history, the likes of Noam Chomsky, Robert A. Millikan, and J. Robert Oppenheimer have all taken the position.  Perhaps the most famous of the Messenger Lectures are those by Richard Feynman, a professor of theoretical physics at Caltech.  In 1964, Feynman gave a series of lectures on “The Character of Physical Law.”  In 2009, Bill Gates purchased the rights to the BBC recordings of Feynman’s seven talks and made them available to the public as part of Project Tuva, giving Feynman, Microsoft, and the Messenger Lectures a great deal of publicity.

The lectureship has been particularly famous among academicians because it allows researchers and scholars to approach the human experience through the lens of their own field of study.  The series encourages scientists, historians, writers, political theorists, etc. to meaningfully apply their life’s work to problems of philosophical thought, resulting in unique and often striking conclusions about the human condition.

Because of their prestige, only the best known intellectuals of the day were invited to serve as Messenger lecturers.  In fact, it took Pauling more than twenty years of work as an internationally-known chemist to be given the honor.

In 1936, Linus spent four months in Ithaca as the George Fischer Baker Lecturer.  During his stay, he established lasting friendships with the Cornell chemistry department faculty and became something of a campus celebrity.  At that time, however, he was deeply immersed in the sciences and was of only minimal interest to the non-scientific community at Cornell.

Two decades later, however, Pauling was much more than just a chemist; he was a Nobel Prize winner, a peace advocate, and a household name.  What’s more, by the late 1950s, Pauling’s interests had fallen in line with the core focus of the Messenger Lectures.  Pauling was deeply concerned with the molecular basis of individuality, community, free will and, of course, peace and violence.  Where sociologists, anthropologists, and biologists were all looking at human civilization on a macroscopic scale, Pauling was examining the very particles of life and extracting astounding theories from the molecules of the human body.

When the Cornell faculty was asked to nominate a speaker for the 1959 Messenger Lectures, chemistry department members remembered the success of Pauling’s previous stay at Cornell.  In April 1957, Linus Pauling received a letter from A. W. Laubengayer, the acting chairman for Cornell’s chemistry department.  Laubengayer asked that Pauling hold six lectures in the Fall Term of 1959.  As was traditional, the university would provide only the broad topic, the evolution of civilization, leaving Pauling to interpret as he wished.

Pauling readily accepted the appointment, citing his fond memories of serving as Baker Lecturer.  His topic, he declared, would be “The Molecular Basis of Life.”  The concept was one that Pauling had lectured on several times before.  For a lectureship as significant and the Messenger series, Pauling needed to introduce a new and unique concept rather than rehash established ideas.

Over the course of the next two years, Pauling set about refining his theories on the influence of molecular evolution in individual and group behavior.  In February of 1959, he began his work on the lectures themselves.  The series was to be divided into six parts: Science and Philosophy, Molecules and Life, The Molecular Basis of Disease, Molecules and Heredity, Molecules and Evolution, and The World of the Future.  Lectures three, four, and five relied heavily on the material Pauling had presented in various publications and talks over the past five years.  Lectures one, two, and six, however, were unique.  It is on these three lectures, the focus of which were Pauling’s philosophical interests, that we will discuss over the course of our series Pauling and the Messenger Lectures.

Click here for all of our posts on the Messenger Lectures.  For more information on Linus Pauling, visit the Pauling Online Portal or the OSU Special Collections homepage.