Science and Ethics

Science is a tested, verifiable and organized set of knowledge. The field of ethics focuses on ideals, behavior, the question of good and evil and the consequences of a certain act.

Understanding that science is a form of activity aimed for improving the civilization, we also understand that these activities can at the same time have very unpredictable and unforeseeable consequences, so ethics has to be the consciousness of Science.

History is full of examples of establishing ethical standards in Science. Let's remember the Hippocratic Oath, the Oath of Maimonides, and in newer history the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, a document that warns us of dangers of weapons of mass destruction – and the main document for the establishment of Pugwash, in July 1957.

Paul Berg, an American biochemist and professor at the Stanford University, was one of the initiators of the famous Asilomar Conference on Recombinant DNA (modified DNA) in 1975. The Conference was a forum for discussion on biohazards and regulations regarding biotechnology. In fact, Berg hasn't finished one of his experiments due to his and his colleagues' conclusion that there is a risk of creating a genetically modified bacteria, which is otherwise a part of the human intestinal flora, and which could cause cancer if modified. Without any further going into details regarding this experiment, it is important to highlight the greatness of the Berg&co team, because only great people wouldn't chase fame without any ethical review of what is being done. This example of overcoming one's vanity is one of the bright examples in Science history. Berg received the Nobel prize in 1980.

The primary reason for creating an ethical code in the world of science is to encourage people to believe science. In fact, there is a growing concern about possible consequences of scientific developments. The public is increasingly turning to irrational and falsely spiritual guides and fanatical dogma because the same science caused the bombing of Japan and napalm in Vietnam. The Vietnam war actually marked a turning point in public's fascination with science and the world, hungry for spirituality, turned to new-age slops, almost rejecting rationality as the base of, to us available, cognition. The acceptance of the ethical code is often a individual matter, but in a way, the one who seriously enters the world of science, simultaneously enters a monastic order. That, to paraphrase the Nobel prize winner Jacques Monod, means that the person has to make a decision, and that decision is of a moral nature.

Jacques Monod

Today, when science continues to bring super-sophisticated weaponry to the world and when the public is completely scared and confused by the synthetic biology, developed ethical codes are a necessity and not luxury.

Also, science ethics is not only ethics which would oversee new knowledge and its application, it is also the ethics of professionalism, which must not allow a person to steal someone's intellectual property, nor set up experiment results. Also, it is the primordial ethics which wouldn't allow any activity that causes suffering to another being – as often is the case with unnecessary and lethal experiments done on animals.

Problems occur due to collision of ethical norms and regulations, ethical norms - other ethical norms and legal regulations-legal regulations. For example, it is required for every compound that is to be included in a certain medicine, cosmetic product or food to be tested so its' impact on people is known, and they are usually tested on lab animals. But on the other hand, there are requests to stop animal testing because it's unethical. This is, of course, an issue much more complex than it is possible to explain in two sentences, but it's the easiest way to portray the issue of the ethics-law loop. In addition, we can mention the issue of which medicines are taxable, the question of labels and should they say that something originated from genetically modified organisms, the consequences of DNA testing on fetuses during pregnancy, development of new techniques of organ transplantation, development of new  weapons and new satellite and navigation systems, to name the example of new Google glasses, which can be used for espionage.

As the application of new discoveries is not a matter of science anymore, but of politics and economy, as the final consumer, it is ethics' task to give guidelines and advice on how to create a healthy legal framework which would regulate the application of new knowledge and prevent its' abuse. Of course, it is always easier said than done, and that is why the awareness on this issue needs to be poured into world leaders' heads and into heads of all those people who hold power in decision making and regulation forming processes.

Unfortunately, at this moment, we are witnessing a humanity crisis, insensitivity to others' suffering, almost the triumph of pseudoscience and irrationality, lead by events in the USA – where people who don't want to admit the existence of climate change and who have given other anti-science statements are being appointed to top functions at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and many other bodies.

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