american academy of arts & sciences spring 2005 Bulletin vol. lviii, no. 3 Page 1 Academy Begins Yearlong Celebration of 225th Anniversary Page 8 The Predicament of American Health Care Harvey Fineberg Page 20 Biodiversity and our Common Future Peter Raven inside: Academy Receives $3 Million Grant, Page 6 Russian Religious Mystics and French Rationalists, Page 12 A Bach Cult in Late-Eighteenth-Century Berlin, Page 26 Project Update, Page 39 Calendar of Events Saturday, Friday, October 8, 2005 December 2, 2005 Stated Meeting and National Induction Stated Meeting–Cambridge Ceremony–Cambridge Speaker: Robert Levin, Harvard University Location: Sanders Theatre, Contents Harvard University Location: House of the Academy Academy News 1 Wednesday, November 9, 2005 Fall meetings in New York and California to be announced. Record-Breaking Support Stated Meeting–Cambridge for the Academy 6 Speaker: David McCullough Location: To be announced For information and reservations, contact the Visiting Scholars and Events Of½ce (phone: 617-576-5032; email: University Af½liates 7 [email protected]). Saturday, November 19, 2005 Stated Meeting Reports Stated Meeting–Chicago The Predicament of American Health Care Speakers: To be announced Harvey Fineberg 8 Location: Art Institute of Chicago Russian Religious Mystics and French Rationalists: Mathematics, 1900–1930 Loren Graham and Jean-Michel Kantor 12 Biodiversity and Our Common Future Peter Raven 20 A Bach Cult in Late-Eighteenth-Century Berlin: Sara Levy’s Musical Salon Christoph Wolff 26 James Bowdoin and the Patriot Philosophers 32 Around the Country 34 Nominating Committee Report 38 Project Update 39 Noteworthy 42 From the Archives 44 Academy News Academy Begins Yearlong Celebration of 225th Anniversary “Cherishing Knowledge, Shap- edged sister organizations estab- ing the Future” sets the theme for lished in the founding period, and the Academy’s 225th anniversary spoke of the Academy’s work in lectures and publications. Meet- science, social policy, and the arts ings will be held throughout the and humanities. country to mark this special oc- casion, with a focus on the prin- Several speakers recalled the ciples underlying the founding evolution of the Academy’s work of the nation and the Academy– over the past three centuries. Neal how they have been transformed Lane (Rice University) called at- throughout history and how they tention to the Academy’s ongoing are interpreted today. concern with both pure research and the practical applications of To inaugurate these events, Vice science–from an expedition to President and Chair of the Acad- observe an eclipse of the sun in emy Trust Louis W. Cabot wel- the midst of the War for Indepen- comed several hundred guests dence to one of the ½rst Darwin- to a special program on April 21, ian debates in America in the 2005, celebrating the Academy’s mid-eighteenth century and the historic mission and its accom- establishment of the ½eld of arms James Carroll (Boston, Massachusetts) and Linda Greenhouse (The New plishments over three centuries. control in the twentieth century. York Times) The evening began with Fellows Robert C. Post (Yale Law School) ies on corporate and nonpro½t Quartet, Sergeant Dan Clark of James Carroll and Linda Green- traced the changing meaning of accountability. Executive Of½cer the Massachusetts State Police, house reading an August 1776 ex- social welfare in the Academy Leslie Berlowitz considered hu- and the Lincoln Minutemen Fife change of letters between John from improving crop production manistic study within the Acad- and Drum Corps. and Abigail Adams that foreshad- in 1780 to a conference on the so- emy, beginning with a focus on As Peter Nicholas, Chairman of owed the creation of the Acad- cial impact of science and tech- the language of the new nation Boston Scienti½c Corporation and emy. Members of the Council nology held two months before and extending to the creation of Co-Chair of the Academy Trust, and Trust read from the Massa- Pearl Harbor, a series of path- important institutions in the hu- observed in his remarks at the chusetts Constitution and from breaking studies on race and pov- manities, particularly the Na- celebration, “what is particular- the Academy’s Charter, acknowl- erty in the 1960s, and current stud- tional Humanities Center, and ly exciting about the Academy a study of the challenges facing is its ability to adapt its historic the humanities in contemporary mission to ensure that we remain America. a vital resource for contemporary Highlights of the evening includ- society. The Academy’s success ed congratulatory remarks by is due to its capacity to use its Mary Maples Dunn, Co-Execu- traditions imaginatively, while tive Of½cer of the American Phil- always promoting constructive osophical Society in Philadelphia; change.” video tributes from Senator Ed- ward M. Kennedy, Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer, U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman, and Chief Justice Mar- garet H. Marshall of the Massa- chusetts Supreme Judicial Court; and musical performances by members of the Lydian String Neal Lane (Rice University) Peter Nicholas (Boston Scientific Corporation) Bulletin of the American Academy Spring 2005 1 225th Celebration Order of Speakers Readings from the Letters of John and Abigail Adams James Carroll Linda Greenhouse Welcome and A Remembrance by John Adams Louis W. Cabot A Tribute to the Academy The Honorable Margaret H. Marshall Chapter 5, Section 2 from the Massachusetts Constitution Cheryl Finley Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall of the Massachusetts Supreme The Charter of the American Academy Judicial Court John S. Reed A Tribute to Sister Organizations Louis W. Cabot Acknowledgment from the American Philosophical Society Mary Maples Dunn A Tribute to the Academy The Honorable Samuel W. Bodman The Academy’s Work: Science and Global Security Neal Lane U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel A Tribute to the Academy W. Bodman The Honorable Stephen G. Breyer The Academy’s Work: Social Policy and American Institutions Robert C. Post The Academy’s Work: The Humanities and Culture Leslie C. Berlowitz A Tribute to the Academy The Honorable Edward M. Kennedy Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Allegro movement from the Divertimento in E Flat, K. 563 Senator Edward M. Kennedy Members of the Lydian String Quartet Introduced by Jerrold Meinwald An Appreciation Leslie C. Berlowitz Proclamation from the White House Jesse H. Choper The Academy’s Future Peter Nicholas “America the Beautiful” Sergeant Dan Clark Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer 2 Bulletin of the American Academy Spring 2005 Patricia Meyer Spacks At a dinner honoring members of the Council and the Trust, President Patricia Meyer Spacks (University of Virginia) toasted the legacy and the promise of the Academy: As President of the Academy, I want to celebrate the ac- complishments of my forty-one predecessors. Beginning with merchant and astronomer James Bowdoin, they laid Members of the Lydian String Quartet: Daniel Stepner (violin), Joshua the foundation for an institution that has advanced change Gordon (violoncello), and Mary Ruth Ray (viola) while remaining faithful to a 225-year-old mission celebrat- ing the life of the mind in service to society. They never lost sight of the distinctive characteristics that de½ne the Academy. We remain interdisciplinary, independent, re- flective, pragmatic, and always aimed at promoting the common good. Lest you think that presidents alone set the Academy’s course, let me assure you otherwise. My fellow of½cers, members of the Council and the Trust, the leaders of our research programs, and all those who work with us to ad- vance our goals are critical to our success. Thinkers and doers, working under no academic or political pressure and with no collective preconceptions, join forces to de- velop fresh approaches to dif½cult problems. Just as we cherish knowledge, we cherish all of you who value the Academy’s past and inspire its future. John S. Reed (Citigroup, retired) Louis W. Cabot (Cabot-Wellington, LLC), Cheryl Finley (Visiting Scholar, Jerrold Meinwald (Cornell University) and Robert G. Stone, Jr. (Kirby American Academy), Carolyn S. Shoemaker (Lowell Observatory) Corporation) Bulletin of the American Academy Spring 2005 3 225th Celebration Leslie Berlowitz (American Academy) and William T. Golden (New York, New York) Robert C. Post (Yale University) and Michael E. Gellert (Windcrest Partners) Members of the Lincoln Minutemen Fife and Drum Corps Charles M. Haar (Harvard Law School) and Allan Robinson (Harvard University) 4 Bulletin of the American Academy Spring 2005 John Holdren (Harvard University) and Hugh Huxley (Brandeis University). Holdren spoke on “The Energy/ Banners of some of the sister organizations established in the founding period Well-Being Nexus: Economy, Security, Environment” at of the Academy. a dinner following the program. Sergeant Dan Clark of the Massachusetts State Police Carl H. Pforzheimer III (Carl H. Pforzheimer and Co.) and Father J. Bryan Hehir (Harvard University) Bulletin of the American Academy Spring 2005 5 Record-Breaking Support for the Academy William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Awards Academy $3 Million Grant A $3 million capacity-building grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation will signi½cantly strengthen the Academy’s research program, expand outreach, and build a more secure ½nancial base. Plans call for increasing the number of projects with public policy implications, involving more Fellows and Visiting Scholars in this work, and broadening Academy activities across the country. In acknowledging the award, Executive Of½cer Leslie Berlowitz noted, “This new grant will advance all aspects of our work, as we enhance our role as an independent, intellectual center for addressing pressing issues of our time. The Academy is extremely grateful to the President of the Hewlett Foundation, Paul Brest, and to the members of its board of trustees for recognizing the need and providing the critical support to realize the Academy’s ambitious goals.” President Patricia Meyer Spacks added, “The Hewlett award represents a strong vote of con½dence in the important work of the Academy.