From Snow to Joy: The Two Cultures in the Age of Nanotech

C.P. Snow's 1959 lecture, published as "The Two Cultures", has determined much of the discourse concerning the relations between the natural and the human sciences. This paper explores the degree to which the terms laid out by Snow have been superceded by successive scientific and techological developments, focusing on the representations of nanotechnology in texts such as Hans Moravec's "Mind Children" (1988) and Neil Stephenson's novel, "The Diamond Age" (1995). Reference is also made to Bill Joy's essay "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us" (2000). Aim of the work is to investigate the operative concept of nature in these and related works of U.S. literature.

Il discorse di C.P. Snow del 1959, "The Two Cultures" ha determinato grand parte del dibattito intorno ai rapporti fra le scienze umane e le scienze naturali. Questo saggio esplora come le condizioni descritte da Snow sono state superate dagli sviluppi scientifici e tecnologici recenti, focalizzandosi sulle rappresentazioni della nanotecnologia in testi come "Mind Children: The Future of Robot and Human Intellingence" (1988) di Hans Moravec, il romanzo "The Diamond Age" (1995) di Neil Stephenson, e "The Future Doesn't Need Us" (2000) di Bill Joy. Scopo di questo intervento è di indagare sulla nozione di Natura operante in queste e simili opere statunitense.