Philosophy, Science

The Unity of Science

From the preface of Michael Munowitz’s Principles of Chemistry:

The wonder of the world is not its complexity, but its simplicity. Given enough color and canvas, anybody can make a mess; that, we do ourselves. More to admire is the artist who makes do with little, the artist whose art is to conceal an economy of form and design. That, nature does unsuspected–in a hidden world from the senses…Start small. Celebrate what molecules and reactions have in common, not what masks their essential unity. Build a foundation. Understand why a university may want to maintain separate departments of chemistry, physics, and biology, but understand also that elementary particles, atoms, molecules, forces, interactions, and the laws of nature respect no academic boundaries. Nature is one.

Further reading on the unity of science: The Scientific Conception of the World: The Vienna Circle