J.D. Bernal

About the Author

J.D. Bernal (1901-1971) was a pioneering Irish crystallographer, physicist, and polymath whose interdisciplinary pursuits bridged science, philosophy, and social theory, profoundly influencing 20th-century thought on technology and human potential. Educated at Cambridge, Bernal's groundbreaking work in X-ray crystallography earned him the title 'father of molecular biology,' while his Marxist convictions drove his advocacy for science as a tool for societal progress. As a key figure in the British left, he contributed to wartime scientific efforts and peace movements, blending rigorous empiricism with visionary speculation. His seminal book, The World, the Flesh and the Devil: An Enquiry into the Future of the Three Enemies of the Rational Soul (Radical Thinkers), explores humanity's transcendence over biological, environmental, and ideological constraints, offering a bold blueprint for a rational, post-human future that continues to inspire debates in science fiction, futurism, and ethics.