In the Cambridge Rede Lecture of 1959; C. P. Snow expressed his thoughts on “The Two Cultures and the Scientific Revolution”. His idea of “the two cultures”; described as a gap between scientists and “literary intellectuals”; attracted much attention in Swedish debate from the early 1960s onwards. In this essay; I present the concept of “the two cultures” as deeply grounded in Snow’s personal experiences and in a British social; political and cultural climate. Furthermore; I discuss the Swedish interpretations and transfigurations of Snow’s concept and; above all; how they differ from Snow’s views. “The two cultures” is here regarded as a concept which was discussed in relation to certain other concepts in a Swedish interpretative framework. In Sweden; “the two cultures” was related to concepts like Bildung; humanism; the humanities; and science. The Swedish debate on “the two cultures” often drew from historical perspectives on these concepts; and was affected by earlier influences from German intellectual traditions. These differences between Sweden and Britain; regarding cultural influences; languages and conceptions; contributed to a broader and partly different understanding of “the two cultures” in Swedish debate.
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