Science in Hungary Remembering ardent discussions that changed nothing in it

Prof. dr. Laszlo Garai In Hungary every now and then break out discussions as far as the science and still more especially the Hungarian Academy of Sciences is concerned. Last time, a couple of years ago it started in the most popular literary wee ly and in the most popular television program! "unior researchers e#pressed their malaise imposed on them allegedly $y the senior scholars% authority within the various &and especially academic' institutions of research and nowledge. (hat would allegedly $e imposed $y those in power on the research wor ers who are only see ing after the levers of the authority was claimed to $e the $asic instead of applied research. )he opinion leaders of the various &and especially of the academic' scientific institutions of research and nowledge do not even try to screen the storm of indignation! (hat*s that a literary wee ly, let alone a television program got to do with the science+, (ith the shared ignorance of the anchorperson and the am$itious "unior researcher ma ing his statements. )he press and the electronic media is claimed to put on a reality show, supply a special soap opera for graduated audience. -e, too, I "oined in the discussion a$out the Hungary*s science and its academy. .nly that my comments on the su$"ect of the actual discussion were issued seven years earlier, in /000, in the review of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Magyar Tudomny &1Hungarian Science1'. At that time there was $eing in full swing another de$ate on the same topic as the actual one! (hat is wrong with the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. Is it a$out handicaped younger research wor ers with the restraint put on them $y priviledged senior scholars+ .r is the matter in 2uestion the predominance of the $asic research over the profita$le applied sciences+ &1)he interdisciplinarity and its cumulative handicap1 3 http!44epa.osz .hu4556554556674555584/0009589/:.html '. ;rom an earlier e#perience I have nown that neither the one nor the other is the point. )wenty years antecedently to that de$at the e#cellent scholar <. Szentagothai prepared himself to the =>Ith (orld ?ongress of Philosophy, @usseldorf where he should have had a pu$lic discussion with <. AcclBs on the $rainCmind pro$leme. AcclBs &operating with two out of D. Popper%s Ethree (orldF' opposed the mind as a (orld )wo to the $rain as a part of the (orld .ne, while Szentagothai constructed on the $asis of his findings in $rain anatomy 2uite a different theory on the emergence of modules that produces &while neurons don%t' mental performances. )his $eing granted, SzentGgothai came to the Institute of Psychology for consulting with us, psychologists, a$out his interdisciplinary theory $efore presenting it to the (orld ?ongress of Philosophy. How then, the SzentGgothai%s paper that produced in @usseldorf a genuine sensation &in more details I reported it in my eynote paper at the International ?onference dedicated to the /55th anniversary of Lev >ygots y E.n the meaning and its $rainF http!44www.staff.uC szeged.hu4Igarai4>ymplic.htm ' was received in the Hungarian Academy%s research institute $y a stony silence that finally got decoded $y the opinion leader of the Institute of Psychology! what the $rain anatomist presented to the psychologists, 2uoth she, was not, certainly, a finding in the $rain anatomy $ut it was in no way to a greater e#tent wording results of some psychological research. (as this unmercifull refusal the manifestation of the fighting $etween those interested in the $asic research and the ones who had $een committed in the profita$le applied science+ Jy no means! $oth the lecturer and the audience were engaged in the fundamental research. (ell, was it then a$out a handicaped younger research wor er put in his place $y one of representatives of those priviledged

senior scholars+ A$solutely not! Szentagothai was not only a grand old man of the Hungarian science at that time $ut he was the president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, too. Jut he dared to step forward with presenting results of nothing $ut an interdisciplinary research attempted nowhere $ut in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. )hat is, in an institution with stalls for almost each one of disciplines &// in num$er' from the Section of Agricultural Sciences to that of Philosophy and Historical Sciences 3 and without the smallest conveniences possi$le for any interdisciplinary research. (henever the conversation turn to the interdisciplinarity oficials or opinion leaders emerge misinterpreting the su$"ect as multidisciplinarity! in the Hungarian Academy of Sciences there a research wor might as well $e carried out parallelly $y each and every one of the a$ove num$ered sections. (hen I "oined in on that earlier de$ate a$out the o$stacles the Hungarian science run into, I went on with a psychosocial research a$out the otherness, a$out the discrimination of minorities and I found that in the e#clusive, aristocratic world of science the structure of psychoCsocial relations and its functionning is similar to that of the common, vulgar universe of dealing with gypsy or "ewish minority, with those who e#hi$it their otherness as homeless or crippled people. )he essence of that similitude is denying from the discriminated minority levers that would be indispensable for overcoming the discrimination. In the Hungary*s science the interdisciplinary approach is $y no means the only motive for turning out to $e handicapped, descriminated. Jut such an approach has $een decidedly one of the most powerfull motives for $eing 2ualified as dissident. And $eing 2ualified as dissident is decidedly the most powerfull motive for $eing handicaped whenever money distri$ution, access to a student $ody at universities and to a learned audience in the scientific community, acceptance for pu$lication, access for awarding, appointments, nominations are concerned, mem$ership in decisionCma ing senates, councils and committees etc. are concerned. (hether one is senior or "unior, involved in $asic research or in applied one. Aven if, $y chance, he happens to $e the president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences. K )he editors of the learned "ournal when pu$lised my te#te invited readers to send in their comments. )here has $een "ust one te#te offered and accepted for the further pu$lication in the topic. At the same time, I received from various &mostly unfamiliar with me' scholars 60 mails commenting my te#t. All together, the authors of these te#tes identified themselves as $eing involved in interdisciplinary research. And fully agreed with my diagnosis in that it is a serious handicap for their wor and carreer, whether su$se2uently they accepted or challenged my suggestions for the institutional reforms to $e done in the institutional structure of the Academy. Jut what has $een a more important, edifying, illuminating e#perience! at least 88 of those writings Lamong others a note from a Ho$el Prize winnerM were e#cellent, $right, thus, I tried to get their authors to su$mit their letter to the Magyar Tudomny as a pu$lisha$le comment to my article. How then, I was answered $y these e#cellent scholars that 1it is $etter to deal with that topic $etween him4her and me1'. Prof. dr. Laszlo Garai