Lord Rayleigh comments on crude views about nature at the 54th Meeting of the
British Association for the Advancement of Science. Many first rate scientists, true
pioneers of physics, chemistry, astronomy etc. have opposed materialism and philosophical
relativism. Both religion and science can claim objectivity if there is a world independent
of human thought. Planck and Einstein affirm it unmistakably. Historically there have been
some outstanding scientists leaning to agnosticism or materialism, like Mach, Poincaré and
Bohr, but they are rather exceptions to the general rule.
Keywords: First rate pioneers of physics, first rate pioneers of chemistry, first
rate pioneers of astronomy, objectivity of the world as viewed by Planck and
Einstein, scientists leaning to agnosticism and materialism.