Literary Works that Influenced Science

American anthropologist Clifford Geertz once said, “I think the perception of there being a deep gulf between science and the humanities is false.” This statement could not be more true. Most people consider the sciences and the humanities to be completely unrelated, but in fact they complement each other splendidly. The sciences strive to explain the universe and all of its constituents through observation and experiment. The humanities involve the study and analysis of human culture, and are traditionally comprised of literature, history, and philosophy. The study of these humanities, in particular, greatly benefits scientific study, and each subject has something unique to offer.

Literature is the study of compositions that have excellence in form and express ideas of permanent or universal interest. Many literary works have influenced science in profound ways. Jules Verne’s 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon, for example, inspired the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Apollo program a century later. From the Earth to the Moon was a fictional story set in the post-Civil War United States of America, where three men designed a cannon to launch themselves to the Moon. Verne calculated several parameters needed to have successful lunar landing which were surprisingly close to accurate. His novel sparked an interest in space travel which climaxed in NASA successfully landing a man on the Moon in 1969, and an interest which continues to this day.

Another literary work which influenced science was H.G. Well’s science fiction novella The Time Machine. Set in England, the story follows the protagonist, known simply as “The Time Traveller”, as he visits ancient and future societies using his time ...

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...geous to science in that it led to the development of a more accurate model of the universe.

The humanities are an incredibly interesting and rewarding group of academic subjects. One can learn much about oneself and the world through studying literature, history, and philosophy. In addition to benefiting the human mind, the humanities and their study also offer a great deal to their scholastic counterparts, the sciences. Literary works can inspire new scientific studies which lead to incredible accomplishments, such as the Apollo 11 lunar landing. Innumerable historical events have transformed science considerably, such as the Renaissance and the First World War. Philosophy has benefited science through stimulating the minds of scientists who improved its theories. The sciences owe much credit to the humanities, without whom they would be much less fruitful.