从期刊发展的历史看期刊的社会功能

Review of the Social Role of Journals in the Light of Their Development History

从期刊发展180年的历史可以看出它既是当时社会的一个缩影,又影响着社会的发展进程。在社会发展中,期刊具有下面几个方面的进步功能:传播人类进步思想和文化,促进社会变革与发展的功能;普及科学技术知识,加速社会进步的功能;引导与推动学术交流活动,深化学术理论研究的功能;独特的发现和培养人才的功能;贮存信息的文献库功能;丰富人们精神生活,促进人类健康发展的文化娱乐功能;期刊具有促进经济、商业信息交流与合作的媒体功能。但在某些时候、某些方面期刊又具有破坏功能。因此,研究期刊发展史上正反两面的经验教训,对于今后更好地发挥期刊促进社会进步的功能,去除期刊不利于社会进步的因素,均有十分重要的现实意义和历史意义。

Looking into the 180-year history of journals, we can find at once they were an epitome of their contemporary society while exercising considerable influences on the development of society, in which they served: first, to spread the progressive thoughts and cultures of mankind and improve the social reform and development; second, to popularize science and technology and speed up the social progress; third, to guide and promote academic exchanges and deepen the academic and theoretic studies; fourth, to discover and foster talents in a unique way; fifth, to store information as a treasury of documents; sixth, to encourage culture and entertainment that enrich man's spiritual life and promote his healthy development; and seventh, to promote information exchange and cooperation in economy and business as a media. However, sometimes journals can be harmful. Therefore, it is of both realistic and historical significance to study the experience and lessons in their development history, for by so doing we can strengthen the role of journals in promoting social progress and eliminate their negative factors that hamper the social advance.