2016 년 9 월 전남 대 영자 신문 , < Chonnam Tribune > 에 기 고 한 글 ▲ Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci surrey . ac . uk When asked to write an article about liberal education , I found myself laughing inside . Wasn ’ t I the person who is most ignorant and indifferent about ‘ culture ’ just several years ago ? However , I think it might be helpful for others to tell my story about how my viewpoint about science and liberal arts has changed . Science , especially physics , was my favorite subject since childhood . If anyone asked me “ Why did you major in physics ? ” or “ What does your research mean to you ? ” , my answer was always the same . “ Because it ' s fun . ” Learning physics and manipulating nature with my own ideas based on my knowledge were my great pleasures . I was like a little child playing with toys in the forest of nature . The pursuit of fun in scientific research made me apply for a university professor position . At universities , one could freely choose research topics without any intervention from others , unlike the situation in companies where the work plan is usually made by a boss . After I became a professor , I really enjoyed the freedom . I was busy building a laboratory , raising research funds , training students and implementing new ideas . However , after several years , different thoughts came into my mind . “ Is it fine for a man in the position of professor to spend his whole life just working on what he likes ? ” “ Is it correct to spend money funded by public taxes for my personal pleasure ? ” Something was wrong . I felt responsibility to my students and to the society I belong to . Students were worrying about their studies , careers , and uncertain futures . The world out there was full of pains and cries . Enjoying my own studies just for myself without any concerns for others was definitely wrong . ▲ Vitruvian Man by Leonardo da Vinci surrey . ac . uk I wanted to understand the situation of the students , and help them find their paths and live a better life . But I was not ready for that . I was lacking an understanding of humans and life . That was my weakest point . While going through high school and colleges specializing in science , I did not have chance to study liberal arts . Until then , liberal studies seemed to me like ornaments to show up as an educated man . As I study and think about other ’ s lives , our history , politics , and cultures , I felt like my eyes were opened . My professional knowledge about physics turned out be too narrow . I did not know even about physics beyond my research field . My interest had to be extended to other fields in physics , and other subjects in science . The whole process of learning in this period was driven by a single motive – to find out how to live in this world . When conducted without understanding the human and social life , science and technology cannot find their meaning . They will just produce fragments of knowledge and will only serve the purpose of the rulers with powers . In many cases in history , it turned out to be useless to mankind , or at worst they brought disasters to mankind . The blind advance of science and technology often resulted in the deepening of the gap between rich and poor , environmental destruction , and the extermination of humanity . This is why liberal education is important for scientists and engineers . I started to teach physics in the liberal arts two years ago , and had to take a different stance unlike teaching physics as a major . The first question that came to mind was this : Why do they need to learn science and how does science help them ? In our society , it is easy to understand why literature is necessary to the public , but to explain why they need to know science seems to be somewhat difficult . one of the reasons is to recognize science just as a means to develop techniques . When asking “ Why is science important ? ” , you may hear this kind of answer . Science became one of the core competitiveness of modern society . Super companies that dominate the world are built based on state - of - the - art science . Science is a national power . In short , science makes us eat well and live well . It sounds like that scientific knowledge itself has neither role nor meaning . It affects human life only when it is converted to a technology . It ' s not true . First of all , what motivates humans to explore science is to understand the world they were born and grew up in . Science begins to know the principles working in our world and maintaining our daily lives . It is based on a very natural desire as a human being . As everyone desires to establish a relationship with another person , we also desire to understand nature . While exploring nature , man gets knowledge and wisdom . Nature holds a deep knowledge that is still not fully uncovered by more than a thousand years of study . The operation of nature is so efficient and sophisticated . Every element that seems to be trivial contributes to maintaining the global system and whole universe is supporting each other . Humans looking at nature ’ s systems with perfect harmony cannot help but to imitate such harmony and generosity . The process of exploring nature itself requires us to have a rational and logical way of thinking . Unlike humans whose response is unpredictable and random , nature always gives us consistent and unwavering answers . If trying to approach nature in the wrong way , we always fail . The truth of nature is relentless . In the same way , we are asked to be sincere and faithful to the truth . Despite the strict and nonnegotiable rules in nature , their consequences are not at all boring or simple . Nature impresses us with an amazing variety and unpredictability , and awakens the beauty and transcendental spirit inside us . This is how science functions as one of the liberal arts , and why men and women need scientific literacy regardless of their professions or majors . Let me summarize in this way : The liberal arts are needed for scientists for proper scientific inquiry , and science , as one of liberal arts , helps all of us grow as a true human being . By Hwang In - kag , Associate Professor , Department of Physics < 저작권자 © Chonnam Tribune > http : / / tribune . cnumedia . com / news / articleView . html ? idxno = 12268