Raison d’etre for scientific study of history – a declaration

Siu-Leung Lee 2019.5.10

Many have asked why a biologist/chemist put so much in doing something outside his own discipline?

I view history from a humanity perspective through science, which transcends any nationality, ethnicity, religion, ideology, and politics.  I believe that each of us as a member of the human species should focus on survival of the whole by learning from our history. Unless our history is factual, the lessons could only be misleading and, in the end, disastrous. In the hierarchy of Humanity > civilization> culture> nation> politics> administration> leadership, the performance at the lowest level in short term is often used to judge a higher level all the way to civilization, which is the final segregation. This ends in personal misunderstanding and world conflict. History is written by people who are limited in capability to gather information and assess objectively. Much of our history has been written with bias either inadvertently or deliberately to fit the interest of a specific group rather than the entire humanity. It is thus necessary to verify and reassess scientifically what has been written.  It is exactly why and how I as a biologist/chemist could contribute logical, analytical skill,in a limited way, to the macroscopic view of survival of a species. I hope this explains my commitment to this research. In the midst of international vigorous rivalry and turmoil, it is my tiny tribute to all humanities before, around and after us.

科学治史的原委—宣言

李兆良 2019.5.10

许多人问为什么一位生物学者/化学研究者越界做历史研究？

我是通过科学，从整个人类的角度来看历史。科学超越了任何国籍，种族，宗教，意识形态和政治。我相信，作为人类物种的一员，我们每个人都应该通过学习我们的历史来关注整体的生存。除非我们的历史是事实，否则历史教训只会产生误导，最终会带来灾难性的后果。在人类>文明>文化>民族>政治>行政>领导的层次来说，最低层次的短期表现往往被用来判断更高的层次，最终的分野是文明，因而导致个人误解和世界冲突。历史编写往往受信息收集和评估的客观能力限制。我们的大部分历史都是在不经意或故意偏颇的情况下写成，以符合特定群体而非全人类利益。因此，有必要科学地核实和重新评估历史书的内容。这正是我作为生物学者/化学研究者能用科学的逻辑分析去审视物种生存的宏观观点。我希望这能解释我投身这项研究的原委。在今天国际激烈竞争和动荡中，算是我对古往今来人文的一点微不足道的贡献。