Pasteur: Applied Science Does Not Exist
“Pasteur held a revolutionary definition of applied science: ‘There is no such thing as a special category of science called applied science; there is science and there are its applications, which are related to one another as the fruit is related to the tree that has borne it.’ This position was at odds with the views held by the scientists of Pasteur’s time, when science for science’s sake was the prevailing ideology. did not Sainte-Claire Deville, one of the greatest chemists practicing at the time, define himself as working in the absurd? Pasteur was naturally attracted to technical realities by temperament and curiosity. And…he was above all interested in developing processes and research that would be economically useful. Acting upon these ideas, he was equally enthusiastic about the teaching of science and about its industrial applications.” (p. 84)