Sir John Eccles was an Australian neurophysiologist and philosopher, and professor at a number of universities in Australia, New Zealand, and the United States, including the University of Buffalo. Eccles was the 1963 Nobel Prize winner for his contributions to neurophysiology and the synapse, which he began in the early 1950s. He also played a role in important developments in neuroscience, demonstrating that synaptic transmission was chemical rather than electrical. In addition to his scientific work, Eccles published philosophical work about the self that corresponded with brain science. in books including Facing Reality: Philosophical Adventures by a Brain Scientist, The Understanding of the Brain, and How the Self Controls Its Brain. In 1963, he was named Australian of the Year and the next year, he became a member of the American Philosophical Society. In 1981, he was a founding member of the World Cultural Council and in 1990 was invested as a Companion of the Order of Australia. He died in Switzerland in 1997.
In his lecture, Eccles addressed the constitution of science, the nature of the scientist, and the nature of the scientific process. For science to flourish, Eccles argued that it was imperative to have the freedom to conduct research and discuss results without dogmatism, to publish, to travel, and to attend scientific meetings without state interference. Science, as the human endeavour of attempting to understand and comprehend the natural world, depends on the freedom of the scientific investigator. At the end of his talk, he considered the different places of science in the Soviet Union and in the West. Ultimately, a greater effort was needed to give people an understanding of this very human aspect of science so that it did not appear a “great monster to be feared and worshipped.”
Eccles’ lecture was held on October 16, 1968.