18th Century--The Enlightenment

The 18th Century is often called The Enlightenment, or the Age of Reason, as opposed to the beginning of the 19th Century which may be called The Age of Emotion (check back next time for more on that).  Basically, the period focused on learning and spreading knowledge.  John Locke, who actually lived most of his life before the 18th Century, is a prime example of what the Enlightenment was all about.  He argued that we should use reason to find the truth instead of accepting things the way they are, or relying on superstition.  He was opposed to authority, and his and others' ideas led to the creation of democracy, which culminated in the American and, subsequently, French Revolutionary Wars.

As in the case of John Locke, the 18th Century utilized, refined, and implemented much of the previous century's philosophies.  In addition, science and philosophy were widely distributed and read.  In 1699, the Paris Academy published the Memoires, one of the first scientific journals.  Other academies (the Royal Society of London, the St. Petersburg Academy, the Turin Society, etc.) soon followed; their main purpose was to do scientific research, and report it to the public.  Information was shared between different countries, and in the case of America, different continents. 

Can you say, "Open Science"?  It's interesting to me to know the idea of sharing the scientific process publicly is not at all new.  It started with the scientific journals and academies.  The difference is now those journals are not as accessible as they were then.

Because monarchs encouraged and often patronized these scientific institutions, information was widely accessible and part of every day discourse.  Of course, the monarchs often used these academies to circulate their own thoughts and introduce absolute monarchy, but nevertheless there was much more freedom and much more discussion.

As I mentioned earlier, this exchange of ideas between countries and continents basically led up to the idea of Democracy and the American Revolution.  In the same year the Declaration of Independence was written, Adam Smith published his Wealth of Nations.  He argued that a nation's economy is more successful if each man is left to work, buy and sell without interference from the government.  The spirit of freedom was prominent in the 18th Century.

Of course, we can also see the downside to this spirit in the French Revolutionary War.  After their involvement in the American Revolution, the poor French people returned home with a desire for equality.  I want to not that that is not exactly what the American Revolution was about.  The colonists wanted the opportunity to become equal through personal effort, not necessarily making all of the country equal.  I hope you can see the difference there.  As history shows, the French Revolution went a little too far, and the Reign of Terror was a dark ending to the Age of Reason.

Going back to Open Science and Open Access: the level of shared information in a country is perhaps one of the best measures of freedom.  If people can exchange ideas and conclusions (especially across the world), people can rise up and be better.  So, where does the French Revolution fit in there?  Maybe that the availability of information and the understanding and utilization of it are definitely not the same thing.  I'm still learning what Open Science is all about, but part of it must include not only communicating knowledge but communicating it in a way that can be understood by the common man.  Most scientific journals (believe me, I've read them) are not easily understood unless you have a good background in the field.  Open Access sites might be able to explain/communicate better to normal people because of the sheer nature of Open Internet: we just speak in a more conversational way online, which you don't get in most scientific journals.