Why did a British organization founded in 1660 make its motto “Take no man’s word for it”?
Subject: Science - Nullius in verba
Event: The founding of the Royal Society, 1660
On this day in 1660, The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge was founded.
After attending a lecture by Christopher Wren, a 25-year-old professor of astronomy at Gresham College, twelve men met to discuss the idea of creating a new organization, a society to promote experimental learning.
The men were inspired by Francis Bacon’s book Novum Organum, where he first proposed what would become known as the scientific method. Bacon proposed that the source of knowledge should not just be what someone believes; instead, it should be based on what they do, specifically a process of observations, inquiries, and experiments. This process should include the seeking out of disconfirming evidence as well as confirming evidence, and it should be a collaborative process, hence the necessity for a society based on fellowship and made up of fellows.
The Royal Society became truly official -- and truly “royal” -- when it was first granted a charter in July 1662. Christopher Wren persuaded the King of England, Charles II, to become its founder and patron. Supposedly a part of Wren’s pitch involved his drawing of magnified louse and a homemade lunar globe featuring details of the moon’s surface.
Although English was agreed upon as the society’s primary language, its motto is “Nullius in verba,” which means “Take no man’s word for it.” It’s an appropriate motto for an organization that is determined to resist claims of authority and to test all things based on facts, evidence, and experiment.
In 2015, the writer Nicholas Clairmont, elaborated on the the Royal Society’s mission:
The scientific method is a codification of the skeptic’s credo. It charges us to question not just the ideas that we don’t like, but also the ideas that are dear to us. It even asks us to imagine that we may be acting based on assumptions we don’t know we have made, and to question those too. The Royal Society, one of the great scientific institutions in the history of human progress, incubator for the ideas of Isaac Newton and countless others, bears as its motto the phrase nullius in verba: “Don’t take anybody’s word for it. (2)
Today the British Royal Society remains the oldest scientific institution in the world.
Recall, Retrieve, Recite, Ruminate, Reflect, Reason: How does the quest for truth guided by the motto “Nullius in verba” differ from traditional, flawed methods of seeking truth?
Challenge - Seeing Better Through Science: What is the best thing that has ever been said about science and the importance of the scientific method. Do a search on some quotations. When you find one you like, write it down, and explain why you think it is insightful.
ALSO ON THIS DAY:
November 28, 1976: Thin Blue Line murder of Robert Wood
ESSAY 1: There Is Such a Thing as Truth - https://thisibelieve.org/essay/28/
Sources:
1-Keeler, C. Richard. “Three Hundred Fifty Years of the Royal Society.” Arch Ophthalmol. 2011;129(10):1361-1365. Oct. 2011.
2-Clairmont, Nicholas. “The Skeptic’s Credo.” The American Interest. 9 April 2015.