THE FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY TALLAHASSEE 32306

 

  

October 29, 1980

Department of Philosophy

Dr. Joshua Lederberg, President
Rockefeller University

66th and York Ave.

New York, NY 10021

Dear Dr. Lederberg:

I hope it is not a misuse of earlier colleague-ship of ours if I approach you on
behalf of some friends of mine in Finland.

A foundation in Finland, Korkeakoulu-ja tiedepoliittinen sdati6, is planning a
symposium on the future of research in universities in Finland, and has asked me

to serve as their representative and invite you to participate. The dates of the
symposium have not been fixed definitively, pending the preferences of the partici-
pants, but the target date is mid-March 1981. You will be asked to address one of
the sessions of your choice. Their tentative topics are:

 

(1) The nature of scientific inquiry.

(2) The internal guidance of science.

(3) The recruiting of scientists.

(4) The evaluation of results of science.

Your travelling and living expenses will be paid by the organizers.

Most of the participants will be locals. Among possible foreign invitees, there

are (I gather) Ralf Dahrendorf from LSE and a representative of NSF.

I have no personal axe to grind in this matter, beyond the pleasure of having. you

as a fellow participant. I am usually not very optimistic about meetings of this
kind. The present symposium, it seems to me, nevertheless can be of an exceptional
significance to the future of research in my native country. Just now the govern-
ment support of research is being drastically increased. At the same time, many
scientists and scholars (and even politicians) are sharply critical of the way the
public support has been administered and used. In these circumstances, a strong,
informed stand of the leading scientists and scholars, backed up by expressions of
international scientific opinion, is likely to have a much greater impact than usual.
For this reason, I very much hope that you can find a way of accepting the invitation.

I shal] be happy to give you as much further information as I can. For this pur-
pose, and also for your convenience in replying to this letter, you may find it
easiest to contact me by phone. My phone numbers in the United States are (904)
893-1404 (home) and (904) 644-1483 (office).
With warm personal greetings,

Sincerely yours,

\ On tee ee ee

Jaakko Hintikka