Schweitzer \'shwlt-s9r\, Albert (b. Jan. 14, 1875, Kaysersberg, Upper Alsace, Ger.—d. Sept. 4, 1965, Lam- barene, Gabon) Alsatian-born Ger¬ man theologian, philosopher, organist, and mission doctor. In his early years he obtained a degree in philosophy (1899) and became an accomplished organist. In his biog¬ raphy of Johann Sebastian Bach (2 vol., 1905), he viewed Bach as a reli¬ gious mystic. He also wrote on organ construction and produced an edition of Bach’s organ works. His books on religion include several on St. Paul; his Quest of the Historical Jesus (1910) became widely influential. In 1905 he announced he would become a mission doctor and devote himself to philanthropic work. He and his wife moved in 1913 to Lam- barene in French Equatorial Africa (now Gabon) and with locals built a hospital on the banks of the Ogooue River, to which they later added a
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1704 I Schwitters ► Scipio Africanus
leper colony. In 1952 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts on behalf of “the Brotherhood of Nations.” Two years before his death, his hospital and leper colony were serving 500 patients. His philosophical books discuss his famous principle of “reverence for life.”
Schwitters Vshvit-srzV Kurt (b. June 20, 1887, Hannover, Ger.—d. Jan. 8, 1948, Little Langdale, West¬ morland, Eng.) German Dada artist and poet. Associated with the Berlin Dadaists from 1918, he moved back to Hannover in 1924. He assembled collages and other constructions from everyday objects (train tickets, wooden spools, newspapers, postage stamps); his poems were composites of newspaper headlines, advertising slogans, and other printed ephemera.
He referred to all his artistic activities—and later to all his daily activities and even to himself—as Merz, the syllable left when he snipped letters from Kommerzbank (“Commercial Bank”). When the Nazis declared his art “degenerate” in 1937, he moved to Norway and later to England.
sciatica \sl-'a-ti-k3\ Pain along the course of the sciatic nerve, from the lower back down each leg. It often begins after lower back strain and is associated with spinal disk herniation. Pain is increased by coughing, sneezing, or bending the neck forward. Muscle relaxants, painkillers, and nerve stimulation are among the treatments, but surgery to relieve pres¬ sure on the nerve is needed if pain is disabling or nerve function is pro¬ gressively disturbed (with leg weakness and loss of feeling). Rarely, sciatica arises from other causes of nerve compression (e.g., tumour) or disorders involving the peripheral nervous system.
science, philosophy of Branch of philosophy that attempts to elu¬ cidate the nature of scientific inquiry—observational procedures, patterns of argument, methods of representation and calculation, metaphysical presuppositions—and evaluate the grounds of their validity from the points of view of epistemology, formal logic, scientific method, and meta¬ physics. Historically, it has had two main preoccupations, ontological and epistemological. The ontological preoccupations (which frequently over¬ lap with the sciences themselves) ask what kinds of entities can properly figure in scientific theories and what sort of existence such entities pos¬ sess. Epistemologically, philosophers of science have analyzed and evalu¬ ated the concepts and methods employed in studying natural phenomena, both the general concepts and methods common to all scientific inquiries and the specific ones that distinguish special sciences.
science fiction Fiction dealing principally with the impact of actual or imagined science on society or individuals, or more generally, literary fantasy including a scientific factor as an essential orienting component. Precursors of the genre include Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818), Rob¬ ert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886), and Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels (1726). From its beginnings in the works of Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, it emerged as a self-conscious genre in the pulp magazine Amazing Stories, founded in 1926. It came into its own as serious fiction in the magazine Astounding Science Fic¬ tion in the late 1930s and in works by such writers as Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert Heinlein. A great boom in popularity followed World War II, when numerous writers’ approaches included predictions of future societies on Earth, analyses of the consequences of interstellar travel, and imaginative explorations of intelligent life in other worlds. Much recent fiction has been written in the “cyberpunk” genre, which deals with the effects of computers and artificial intelligence on anarchic future societ¬ ies. Radio, film, and television have reinforced the popularity of the genre.
Scientific American U.S. monthly magazine interpreting scientific developments to lay readers. It was founded in 1845 as a newspaper describing new inventions. By 1853 its circulation had reached 30,000 and it was reporting on various sciences, such as astronomy and medi¬ cine, apart from inventions. In 1921 it became a monthly. From its found¬
ing it used woodcut illustrations, and it was one of the first papers to use halftone illustrations. Its articles—solidly based on scholarly research, well written, carefully edited, and accompanied by definitions of scien¬ tific terms and by illustrations—have made it the most highly regarded magazine of its genre.
scientific method Mathematical and experimental techniques employed in the natural sciences. Many empirical sciences, especially the social sciences, use mathematical tools borrowed from probability theory and statistics, together with such outgrowths of these as decision theory, game theory, utility theory, and operations research. Philosophers of sci¬ ence have addressed general methodological problems, such as the nature of scientific explanation and the justification of induction. See also Mill's METHODS.
scientific visualization Process of graphically displaying real or simulated scientific data. It is a vital procedure in the creative realization of scientific ideas, particularly in computer science. Basic visualization techniques include surface rendering, volume rendering, and animation. High-performance workstations or supercomputers are used to show simu¬ lations, and high-level programming languages are being developed to support visualization programming. Scientific visualization has applica¬ tions in biology, business, chemistry, computer science, education, engi¬ neering, and medicine.
Scientology, Church of International movement established in the U.S. by L. Ron Hubbard in 1954. He introduced his ideas to the general public in Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (1950). Dianet- ics sought to free subjects from the destructive imprints of past experi¬ ences, called engrams. Later Hubbard moved toward a structured system of belief involving the human soul, or thetan (each person’s spiritual self), and the origins of life and the universe. The organization has often been the subject of controversy.
Scilly Vsi-le\, Isles of or Scilly Isles Group of about 50 small islands and many more islets, southwestern England. Located off Land's End, with an area of about 6 sq mi (16 sq km), the islands are a continuation of the granite masses of the Cornish mainland. During the English Civil Wars, Prince Charles sheltered there until his escape to Jersey in 1646. The islands were a haunt of pirates and notorious for smuggling activities. Administratively, they are a distinct unit within England, though they form part of the county of Cornwall.
Scipio Africanus (the Elder) Vsi-pe-o, 'ski-pe-o\ in full Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (b. 236—d. 184/183 bc, Litemum, Cam¬ pania) Roman general in the Second Punic War. He was bom into a patri¬ cian family that had produced several consuls. As a military tribune, he fought at the Battle of Cannae (216), managing to escape from the defeat. While still young, he secured Spain for Rome by 206, driving the Carthaginians out and avenging his father’s death. As consul in 205 he was granted permission to attack the Carthaginians in Africa. In 202 he was victorious over Hannibal at the Battle of Zama, ending the Second Punic War and winning the name Africanus. His political opponents, led by Cato, accused Scipio and his brother Lucius of offering too lenient terms to Macedonia after their engagement there and of not being able to account for money supposedly received in those terms. Though there was no evidence of his guilt, Scipio withdrew from public life and died a vir¬ tual exile.