Annual Conference of Episcopal Cathedral Deans

The impact of science and technology on our society has been the subject of much study and discussion. The public, generally, and those engaged in social work in the broadest sense have become increasingly aware of the preoccupation of our society with technological achievements. Correspondingly, there is an increasing concern over the effect on man and his behavior and on social processes. The need for understanding the methodology and the potential of science and technology by society at large is quite clear.

When the national program of space exploration and research was given its tremendous impetus by our commitment to send men to the moon by 1970, it was recognized by many that a process of technological development was set into motion of dimensions greater than anything we have had since World War II. Mr. James E. Webb, the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, was acutely aware of the potentialities of the program and its impact on the economic, political, and other social processes.
It was his inspiration that led us to develop an interdisciplinary group in the social sciences within the framework of the Space Sciences Laboratory. The social scientists working in the environment of the physicist, chemist, biologist, and engineer have been able to understand better the "demon" whose effect is of such concern. The scientist and engineer, or at least some of us, have been awakened to the larger sphere of influence of our work and have been led to give more than passing thought to the problems. This work carried out under the University program of the N. A. s. A., under grant NsG-243 in our case, has made clear the problems of semantics and communications among men of different intellectual backgrounds and disciplines. It has brought into focus the need to clarify ideas and to develop a better understanding of the content of other fields of knowledge.

The problems of communication become even more complex when one seeks to establish intellectual rapport between members of the academic world and those outside. The barriers between church and religion and the university are made higher and thicker by an unfortunate construction of the principle of separation of church and state and, as a result, there has been far too little interaction between the university and the theological institutions. It was, therefore, a pleasant and most welcomed opportunity for the members of the Space Sciences Laboratory to have a direct exchange of ideas with the Deans of the Cathedrals of the Episcopal Church. It was an opportunity to exercise the philosophy and purpose of our interdisciplinary program in another highly important sphere.