Mainstream
society is peppered with brilliant minds, all contributing knowledge to the
masses in one form or another. Among the esteemed are scholars, economists, and
sometimes even television hosts. The STEM field has one intellectual in
particular who is incredibly ubiquitous in matters regarding the universe and
life itself: Stephen Hawking. His theories and discussions on our very
existence and the human condition in the universe can often feel like they are
melting one’s brain, but this is crucial. Hawking challenges the upper limits
of human understanding and pushes humanity to think deeply about the world
around us in addition to questioning our very own existence. Hawking introduces
revolutionary ideas to his field and challenges mainstream societal perceptions
and pushes people to think differently. Stephen Hawking is not only one of the
most preeminent astrophysicists of his generation, but also through his
engaging lectures and book publications, an intellectual who is capable of instigating
the masses to better understand the complexities of physics, the universe, and
the world that surrounds us all.
Public intellectualism historically
has been the domain of writers, historians, and clerics. Traditionally speaking,
public intellectuals are members of society who incite public discourse on a
number of topics, most commonly politics and other similar items of collective
social interest. They engage the public sphere and encourage collaboration and
proactive discussion on issues at hand. In recent times, there has been a shift
in the typical public intellectual in that rather than being from a social
science or religious background, they are increasingly coming from the physical
sciences.[1]
Just as their social science and clerical predecessors, new-age public
intellectuals with backgrounds in the physical sciences have helped to ‘rock
the boat’ and encourage people to not only question the world around them but
also to engage in productive discussions that build upon preexisting knowledge.
In our society, these people serve a crucial function: to convince the public
to think collectively and to think of solutions to a common problem
democratically[2]. Stephen Hawking conforms to the ideals of what
a public intellectual should be; he is an advocate for the constant progression
of the human race and actively shapes his specific field while also maintaining
a rapport with the public.
Before becoming a world-class
astrophysicist, Stephen Hawking had a reputation of being a relatively normal
student who did not at first exhibit any outward signs of unbridled genius. His
own mother described him as ‘a very normal young man’[3].Hawking
addresses his normalcy in the beginnings of his academic life by talking about
how he is not proud of his lack of work ethic and at the time, he felt no
inclination to work hard and felt that he didn’t have a ‘reason’ like most of
his peers [4].
This all changed when he was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or
ALS. With no idea how long he had to live, Hawking was driven into motion and
inspired to discover more about the universe and think about such things in a
different manner than the academics who surrounded him. In fact, he invented
his own method of visualizing difficult physics problems within his mind, being
unable to physically write them down due to his disability. Eventually, Hawking
became the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge, the same position
Isaac Newton held centuries earlier. Hawking went on to publish several leading
journals as well as multiple books that have garnered both critical acclaim and
criticisms, while simultaneously inciting curiosity in the public eye.
Hawking is staunchly unafraid of refuting
claims of other scientists and even his own claims and is notoriously
relentless in leaving no stone unturned for the sake of gaining and inspiring
the production of new knowledge. Though
the majority of people may simply associate the name “Stephen Hawking” with a
wheelchair-bound scientist, Hawking has produced some of the most
ground-breaking theories about the universe in recent history. He is most well
known for his contributions to unifying general relativity with quantum theory.
That is to say, along with Roger Penrose, Hawking established that the universe
‘began’ with the big bang and would ‘end’ with black holes[5]
.This of course challenged prevailing public opinion during its inception and
shook the very foundation of mainstream science as it required people to
rethink Albert Einstein’s own prevailing theories during the time. In addition,
Hawking built upon existing research regarding black holes and refuted
well-respected theories at the time. Besides that, he even actively engaged in
debates with people he disagreed with and consequentially brought new knowledge
to light as well as encouraging further pursuit of higher understanding of
complex ideas. For example, he continually feuded with an American physicist
about information being destroyed by black holes, engaging in an intellectual
banter that lasted for decades[6]. Hawking pushes the envelope in his field and intentionally
encourages scientists and ordinary people alike to continually question what is
‘common knowledge’ and what is known to be fact about the universe and physics.
Hawking’s propensity for prodding the scientific community into constantly
questioning what they know to be true helps humanity as a whole better
understand the universe.
Aside from his contributions to
science, Hawking encourages people to question the world around them and to ponder
our very own existence. One example of this is an open question posted to the
internet, asking “In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and
environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?”[7].Though
he is a respected voice in the scientific community, Hawking also shows that he
is unafraid in making people think about the human condition and spurring
people to think past themselves. Hawking does not limit himself to a scientific
sphere of thinking and instead fosters collective discussion on social issues
that affect the public at large. He even makes people question life itself. In
a lecture called “Life in the Universe”, Hawking attempts to explain the origin
of life and discusses the possibility of self-designed evolution in humanity’s
near future[8]. These open-ended type of lectures
and questions do not necessarily have a ‘right’ or a ‘wrong’ answer, rather, they
serve an important societal function. The hypothetical inquiries Hawking poses
in his lectures and in the question he posted online provoke members of society
to think outside the box and push themselves to think philosophically and critically.
Another way in which Hawking impacts
a wide audience is his publication of several books. Normally, published
scientific work is restricted to the world of academia and is a bit more
difficult to access for ‘regular’ people. Aside from the several lectures and
scientific journals he has written, Hawking’s books have mirrored his theories
regarding the universe and our existence, centralizing around questions that
ask “When and how did the universe begin?” and “Why are we here?”[9].While
his lecture notes and papers were undoubtedly productive in the realm of
science, his books really helped to reach out to a wider audience. In a sense,
the books Hawking wrote helped to make science and complex physics specifically
more accessible to ordinary people, exposing them to ideas they otherwise
probably would not run into. Among his books’ accomplishments are A Brief History of Time’s four year stay
on the Sunday Times bestseller list
for four years straight which was at the time unprecedented[10].
This book’s long term exposure to the general public helped to bridge
mainstream society with cutting edge science and as a consequence piqued the
common man’s interest in science, helping to initiate a scientific and
philosophical dialog within society as a whole. His book publications have
become a platform through which public discourse can take place and flourish.
Elements of Public intellectualism
are everywhere in Hawking’s work, lectures, and persona itself. The very soul
of Hawking’s lectures keeps people on their toes and incites productive and
analytical thought about the universe, life, and knowledge in general. An
example of this is the open ended question he posted onto the internet. Hawking
did indeed post the question but had no further comment on it and instead
intentionally left it open-ended. This is a reflection of how Hawking does not
contribute knowledge in exchange for something, rather, he is insistent upon encouraging
the participation of multitudes of people in a sort of collective intelligence.
In this regard, Hawking most definitely a public intellectual in that much of
his lectures and work ‘stir the pot’ in a sense. This echoes the notion that
the role of public intellectuals is to constantly prod, poke, and pester the
powerful institutions in our society that shape our lives[11]. Hawking’s lectures, questions, and
inquiries invoke genuine thought about the world around us and begs us to think
about ourselves not just individually but collectively as a society to come up
with answers to arguably the most unanswerable questions.
Hawking uses aspects of religion to
reach out to an audience that otherwise may not fully grasp the scope of his
lectures. Some believe that clerics and intellectuals compete for the same
space within our mind [12].
However, Hawking shows that both schools of thought can exist alongside one
another. Though some may perceive religion to be a tool that clerics utilize to
ostracize people who do not fit into the collective mentality, intellectualism
and religion are not mutually exclusive. Just as some enlightened thinkers from
centuries earlier may have used faith in order to appeal to a large audience,
modern thinkers of non-clerical origins incorporate elements of religion to do
the same. Though he is not traditionally religious, Hawking exhibits some
parallels with religious intellectuals in that both use allusions to God and
religion in order to relate with their respective audiences, however, he
differs in that he does not use it to alienate or insulate a certain group of
individuals, like some religious intellectuals may do (12). In his lecture “The Origin of the Universe”, Hawking utilizes
the concept of God to illustrate complex physics theories that explain the
beginning of the universe. For example, he says that “we are products of random
quantum fluctuations in the very early universe. God really does play dice”[13]. In instances such as this, Hawking
uses God to identify with the common man, to bring together people who may not
have a background in science and those who understand physics right off the
bat. As opposed to insulating a certain portion of people within narrow communities
as religious intellectuals, however, Hawking uses God to illustrate a concept
people would otherwise have trouble understanding; he uses religion to simplify
his ideas and to make them more palatable to a wider audience.
Hawking implicates religion within his
work in order to challenge it and convince people that it is acceptable to
question figments of authority that are well-embedded in the fabric of our
society. Age-old institutions like religion can have a monopoly on human
understanding and cultural values, but Hawking helps to challenge these dated
notions and brings a new and refreshing perspective to the world. Though many
people in contemporary society may view the world around them in a religious
lens, allowing religion to be major part of their personal perceptions, Hawking
uses logic and science to persuade people into thinking in concrete and
analytical terms. Hawking’s thoughts on the institution of religion are
exhibited by his comment on the beginnings of the universe when he says, “I was
glad he [the pope] didn’t realize I presented a paper at the conference
suggesting how the universe began. I didn’t fancy the thought of being handed
over to the inquisition, like Galileo”(13). The institution of religion has had its place as a
well-respected aspect of culture for centuries yet Hawking is unafraid to
challenge aspects of religion that have been mainstays in peoples’ beliefs.
Hawking, uses his lectures to logically demonstrate phenomena which were
previously simply attributed to God and in doing so spurs the public to
question authority and to think independently about institutions that were up
until recent times regarded as factual and unquestionable, in this case, the
church.
According
to Odile Heynders, author of Writers as
Public Intellectuals: Literature, Celebrity, Democracy, an attribute public
intellectuals share is that they sideline concurrent ideas presented by their
peers and often offer an alternative thought process. They have a critical thought
process and stimulate their audiences to think of alternative scenarios through
multiple lenses, whether it be scientific, social or ethical[14].
Hawking fits this mold perfectly as his presence in the public eye is not only
informative in the traditional sense but also creates healthy debates which
help to create new knowledge. This concept of presenting new ideas to people
and inspiring them to think differently has a parallel in The Supposed Decline of the Public Intellectual, in that a hallmark
of the public intellectual is that they ‘keep the pot boiling’ and that rather
than focusing on whether or not people are listening to what they have to say,
they are more concerned if people are talking about the things they perceive to
be worth talking about (11). The fact that he is not only a scientist but one of the
leading ones in his field gives his work a large amount of heft and challenges
the notion that only the arts/histories can produce public intellectuals. Hawking
is an advocate for the advancement of human society as a whole and through his
well-respected work, an intellectual whose thoughts and perceptions merit
respect and weight.
No comments:
Post a Comment