All the dangerous mass killing gases, G.M. Bacteria and Viruses and other devices, weapons etc. are developed by some brilliant scientists. The politicians just only use these.
Even today, such researches are going on in different laboratories of the world. Many brilliant scientists selected such profession for a handsome of salary etc.
The scientists are dedicated in their works. They may have the feeling that they are only liable to their employer and science, having no responsibility for use and effects of their discoveries.
What is your consideration?
Moral / ethical implications of research absolutely must be considered for several reasons:
- government restrictions,
- potential public backlash,
- potential catastrophic disaster.
Please always be careful. Some forces are beyond our control and may obliterate life as we know it.
Please read the question as - Scientists are only liable to perform research, they ...
Cloning, robotics, autonomous vehicles create legal and ethical issues that impact society that scientists must consider.
Moral / ethical implications of research absolutely must be considered for several reasons:
- government restrictions,
- potential public backlash,
- potential catastrophic disaster.
Please always be careful. Some forces are beyond our control and may obliterate life as we know it.
Dear Dr. Shibabrata Pattanayak you come up with an interesting issue and very challenging issue.
What I am thinking and believe is that we have to appreciate the expertise and knowledge of individual scientists, so that they will almost always behave in accordance with the values of the societies in which they work. This kinds of motives has to be from all members of the society including the policy makers.
All actors in the social, political, economical and environmental, etc value chains should feel responsible for upholding moral values, for educating the next generation about those values and for making responsible decisions about the use the proper development and use of inventions.
I entirely agree with Dr. Colton comment. I think there is nothing that is above our moral and ethics. No matter whatever research we will conduct, it must be guided by moral and ethics every time. Otherwise, research outcomes may lead to catastrophic disaster.
Regards,
All the science has good and bad sides. It depends on user, what he wants to do
Science without sociological and ethical consideration is vanity, a waste of resources and a defeat to the core values of scientific research.
We must decide to accept scientific research offers that bring positive impacts and progression in our global societies. We have that right and it would be inhumane on the part of true scientists to sell their ethical worth for money. It always saddens my heart that some brilliant scientists walk that unfortunate path...
As long as there is freedom of research selection, there is the responsibility that comes with it.
Yes, scientists have a moral and ethical responsibility to make sure that their innovations do not have negative consequences on humanity. This determination may be easy is some cases, for example, development of weapons of mass destruction including the ones used in biological and chemical warfare. In other cases, the invention, at the time of conception, may not be intended for harmful purposes but later on applications were developed by someone else for use in a destructive manner. Alfred Nobel did not intentionally invent dynamite to kill people; the original intent was to blast rocks and mountains for construction purposes. Later on, it was used for harmful purposes. As it is said, Nobel felt so remorseful of the consequences of his invention that he donated all his award money from his invention into Nobel Prize awards. Other examples abound where the original intent had no immoral or unethical aspects but later on the misuse of that invention created negative consequences. The Internet has brought us many advantages but it was only a matter of time before crooks found ways of stealing your identify or scamming people. Did the original inventor of the Internet envision this? Should the original inventor be held responsible for the harm caused to millions of people? Something to ponder...
Every scientific researcher must be socially responsible, social responsibility is part of the responsibility in general. The researcher is responsible for the results of his research and its reflection on society. This social responsibility is necessary for the public interest. In light of this, unity and cohesion of society is achieved and deeper peace is achieved.
I agree with mostِ of the opinions that the colleagues mentioned above. Anyone who is researching, developing or inventing something new must take into account the responsibility and the effects that are reflected on society, whether environmental or moral, and that the financial interest is not the most important, although it is currently the main objective of most researches, Individuals or companies.
It is a very particular question and each one has its criteria. My research focus is always on actions focused on good. Possible searches for nefarious interests do not interest me. It is a very controversial issue and difficult to be answered by those who think differently from this focus.The honesty of some will be exposed, omitted or ignored. Let's wait for the answers.
Ethics is a set of moral obligations that define right and wrong in our practices and decisions. Many professionals have a formalized system of ethical practices that help guide professionals in their respective field. Broadly explained in literatute there are 7 principles that form the content grounds of this framework, seldom they are being applied:sorry to say
- Non-maleficence. ...
- Beneficence. ...
- Health maximisation. ...
- Efficiency. ...
- Respect for autonomy. ...
- Justice. ...
- Proportionality.However, on thing is for sure that basically scientists become puppets in hands of MNC'S and seldom think about the issue raised by Dr Pattanayak. Simply take example of one MNC company which was having Bollgard 1 gene as well as Bollgard II genes for genetically modified cotton.
- However,to best of my knowledge there was no patent for Indian territory and despite that THIS COMPANY EARNED crores of money as royalty from other licencee companies to use the technology which was ultimately extracted from Farmers pocket.
- Shocking thing was that despite several DO letters ,THIS COMPANY NEVER REP[LIED ON THIS ISSUE AND KEPT ON COLLECTING MONEY.
- Everybody from this company was aware that there is no territorial patent right wrt India but despite that no body from scientific community of this global company dared to acquaint public sector or even government could not curb it due to some black sheep in the systems.
this link is useful
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3790058/
regards
It looks like that. As the science is a good servant but the bad master ! In fact, each and every inventions have some limitations and misuse ! But better not to claim the scientist for this .
Not everything is absolute but you are right. I think it applies for the majority of cases. And I think it's due to his faithful commitment to science and his country.
All research generally is based on one premise that is to make human life better. If in the process a research threatens to destroy the very human life then there is a need to have checks and balances.
Infact I agree with Artur Braun that scientists are nothing special and all have ethical and moral responsibilities ......
Human beings are responsible for the consequences of their actions; this applies equally to driving a car and doing research. If you are aware that you are working on an atomic bomb, then you share the responsibility for the human consequences of its use. If you simply don't bother to consider the consequences of your research, then you are guilty of negligence. However, you cannot be held responsible for consequences that could not reasonably be anticipated.
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