Natural Law and Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

The first technological revolution, in the fourth millennium BC, was followed by immense social progress. The second revolution, which is now taking place, could lead to an even greater development in the human sciences, by setting men free from their daily struggle for existence while simultaneously exacting high social standards. Natural law - the “marriage between the ways of heaven and the ways of earth” of the Chinese - represents a route to such progress. In natural science and technology, natural law demands that conclusions be based on observation rather than speculation. The social sciences would do well to follow this example.