Volume 2 - Science and creativity

The inaugural issue of the Journal, published last Summer, gave start to this adventure by presenting the proceedings of the San Marino Symposium 2009, which dealt with the topic of “Discovery in Science”. Continuing on that same line, the current issue will focus on the theme of an earlier San Marino Symposium, which took place in 2008 with the support of the John Templeton Foundation, on the related subject of “Creativity and Creative Inspiration in Science”, given ‘creativity’ and ‘discovery’ are closely intertwined at the heart of the scientific process. The second issue of Euresis Journal wishes to present the outcomes of the reflections and discussions of the scientists gathered in San Marino on these questions. Continuing with the original intents of the Journal, we wish to give space for the community to reflect on the very phenomenon of scientific research, starting from, but extending beyond, its strictly technical aspects, to look at the implications of scientific research for the person of its protagonists and the questions it puts to society as a whole. The diversity of topics treated and professional research activities of the authors of the present issue is a notable characteristic of the volume, and reflects the wide horizon of our aims. The articles range from personal and historical accounts of the creative work of famous scientists and their implications, to the discussion of concrete examples of how creativity plays its part on the development of science. Epistemological and anthropological analysis of the creative process in science and in the scientific community give an external, global view to the discussion, touching on topics specifically relevant to our present historical moment, such as scientific funding and the organisational infrastructure of science, and the question of freedom in scientific research, the latter in relation to the specific case of climate change research. Science has a major impact on education, and on the public perception of the world we live in. Social demands shape scientific developments as much as a certain view of science, as maintained by its protagonists, or a specific discovery or research result, can affect the way society as a whole think about itself and its future. What is the role of the scientist in this process and how can he better exert the great responsibility he enjoys in our times? We hope that the discussions presented in this volume will give some contribution to these important questions, proposing an education through the scientific disciplines that goes beyond the transfer of specific notions, and is preoccupied with the formation of the full personality of the individual, directly or indirectly involved in science.