Address of the President, Sir Michael Atiyah, O. M., given at the Anniversary Meeting on 30 November 1992

The Anniversary Meeting of the Society is the one annual occasion on which the President has the chance to address the Fellows on some topic of his choice. He has a more or less captive audience and he has the opportunity of expounding his views on issues of the moment. Of course he is expected to report, in passing, on the highlights of the Society’s activities over the year, but a mere recital of topics is somewhat dry and best left to the printed pages of the Annual Report. No, the President is expected to use his oratorical skills for some loftier purpose. In reflecting on a suitably lofty topic, I recalled the view held by one of my predecessors that the main purpose of the Royal Society was to act as ‘the Conscience of Science’. Since I have considerable sympathy with that view, I felt that I might use this occasion to put my own interpretation on that phrase and what it implies. Needless to say, in exercising my presidential prerogative, lam not claiming to speak officially on behalf of the Society. That would restrain me from making any provocative or controversial remarks, and would guarantee a dull speech!