In all areas of human activity, there are certain moral standards. Science is no exception! Scientists are obliged to obey the system of moral norms, universal moral requirements and prohibitions: do not steal, do not lie, and a number of other well-known principles.
General concepts of moral laws in science
The moral law can be conditionally divided into two stages:
- personal morality of a person;
- ontological morality of boolean variables.
The level of the first stage is chosen by the subject personally for himself by free will. At the second level, predicates rooted in universal human knowledge are important.
Such an area as the ethics of science affects the plane of moral laws and the entire near-scientific reality. In the modern world, not only science, but also the entire near-scientific space is an object of systematic and close study. Science is a social and cultural element of society, therefore, it needs certain moral codes and sanctions.
Relevance
It may seem that the issue raised bythe ethics of science is of secondary importance. But this is far from reality. On the contrary, with the development of technology, ethical issues become more and more relevant. And in past centuries, they made sense and were considered by scientists as important questions.
In connection with the above, the question emerges: is it possible to speak of scientific ethical neutrality? How should one treat science itself from an ethical and moral point of view: as initially pure, chaste, or as sinful?
Two directions. First
Reviewing this problem, scientists have identified 2 different lines.
The first one says that the ethics of science is neutral, and all the processes associated with the inhumane use of its achievements are entirely justified by society. The thesis about the neutrality of science is quite common. Its origins go back to D. Hume's well-known judgment about facts. This line endows science with only instrumental meaning. This position was held by many scientists of the first half of the last century (XX century). One of them was G. Margenau. He believed that the ethics of science is neutral because it acts as a means after an ethical choice has been made. But to ethics itself, the scientific method must be applied.
Responsibility
According to J. Ladrière, science is responsible for its internal state. Its external side is often associated with possible situations that in certain respects will be unacceptable. Of course, science is also responsible for these possibilities, but one cannot know in advance all the consequences. Therefore, the responsibility of science is, first of all, the awareness of the actual role that it plays in the occurrence of dangers and inevitable consequences. It has an obligation to communicate accurately what is at stake, to seek appropriate measures to limit risks and prevent potentially dangerous situations.
Second direction. Sociality
The second line is gaining momentum in the second half of the last century (XX century). It is characterized by the understanding that science is not neutral in relation to ethics. It is socially and morally conditioned from the very beginning. At the same time, a scientist is a responsible person. He must be in a state of readiness for the results of the impact of science on society. Society, the ethics of science, and the responsibility of the scientist are strongly intertwined. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of the social mechanisms that lead to the abuse of results in order to take measures to prevent negative processes. A scientist must be able to resist social pressure to engage in harmful activities.
Ethics
For example, the ethics of science and the responsibility of a scientist in the field of plagiarism are clearly focused on the fact that this is theft. It is unacceptable to pass off other people's results as your own. The same goes for ideas. A scientist must be a researcher of truth, new knowledge, a seeker of reliable information. These are people who possess the qualities inherent in courageous personalities, capable of both defending the correctness of their convictions and admitting, if proven, that they are wrong.judgments.
According to the opinion of many philosophers, the ethical link of science is endowed with an emotionally colored set of prescriptions, rules, customs, values, beliefs, predispositions, which a scientist must adhere to without fail.
Development and specifics
The modern problem of ethics in science has some features, subject to a complex of socio-cultural factors of society.
The issues of relations between the scientific sphere and society and the so-called social responsibility are gaining particular urgency. It is very important to understand what direction the achievements of science have, whether they will carry knowledge directed against a person. Undoubtedly, the development of biotechnologies, genetic engineering, medicine has made it possible to influence various functions of the human body, up to the correction of hereditary factors and the creation of organisms with specified parameters. The construction of new forms of life, endowed with qualities that are too different from those known so far, has become available to man. Today they talk about the danger of the appearance of mutants, human clones. These questions affect the interests, ambitions and audacity not only of scientists, but of all the people of the planet Earth.
The specificity with which the problem of ethics in science is endowed lies in the fact that the object of a large number of studies is the person himself. This poses a certain threat to his he althy existence. Such problems are created by research in genetics, molecular biology, medicine and psychology.
Issues and principles
Scientific ethical issues are divided mainly into physical, chemical, technical, medical and others. Ethics in medicine covers a wide range of issues related to human life: reproductive technologies, abortion, the status of the human embryo, transplantation, euthanasia, gene technology, experiments using living beings, including humans. And these are just some of the issues raised. In fact, this list is much longer.
Therefore, the rules of the ethics of science emphasize that even if any research does not pose a direct threat to society, it is important to exclude the possibility of harming the dignity and rights of each individual. It is necessary together, scientists and the public, to look for reasonable solutions. In turn, the scientist is obliged to foresee all possible options for the occurrence of adverse consequences of his research.
All scientific and technical decisions must be made after collecting the most complete and reliable information that will be justified from the point of view of morality and society.
All principles of the ethics of science can be reduced to the following concepts:
- truth is valuable in itself;
- scientific knowledge must be new;
- scientific creativity is endowed with freedom;
- scientific results should be open;
- skepticism needs to be organized.
Honesty in science and adherence to the above principles are very important. After all, the purpose of research is to expandthe boundaries of knowledge. But no less important in this area is well-deserved public recognition.
Violations
All principles can be destroyed from the careless application of methods, from inattentive document management, all sorts of falsifications.
Such violations are contrary to the essence of science as such - a systematic research process aimed at obtaining knowledge based on verified results. In addition, they undermine public confidence in the reliability of scientific results and destroy the mutual trust of scientists, which is the most important condition for scientific work in these days, when cooperation and division of labor have become the norm.
Historically, the ethics of science in philosophy is the main direction that studies morality, its structure, origin and patterns of development as a key component of the life of human society. The question of the place of morality in the system of other social relations seems to be very important.
The very subject of ethics has changed significantly over time. Initially, it was a school for educating a person in virtue. It was considered as a call of the individual to the fulfillment of divine laws in order to ensure immortality. In other words, it is the science of forming a new person, disinterested and just, with a sense of indisputable duty and knowledge of the ways to implement it. There is no doubt that such a person is characterized by discipline.
The ethics of science studies the laws of morality of society and the individual, and every scientist is, first of all, a person,member of society. Therefore, he cannot harm himself or others.
Of course, principles and a set of rules alone will not be enough to completely prevent all kinds of dishonesty in science. This requires appropriate measures to ensure that everyone involved in research activities is aware of the norms of scientific ethics. This will make a significant contribution to reducing violations.
How are the ethics of education and science related?
Education is on the same level with the state, the economy, the family and the culture of social institutions. There is a direct dependence of the state in this area and civic position, morality, state security. Education directly ensures the socialization of the individual. As you know, without education there is no science. Today this system is bursting at the seams. Many do not want to hear about morality. Both higher and secondary schools are influenced by commerce. Traditional morality is no longer valid.
Modernity and ethics
Unfortunately, today it is not the knowledge of the applicant, not his passion for science that comes first, but the size of the wallet of parents who are able to pay for educational services.
This is how the general accessibility of obtaining knowledge in prestigious educational institutions goes. There is a degradation of human relations and mass culture. But the consumer attitude to life, recklessness and primitivism are flourishing.
Therefore, the ethics of science and society should raise the issue of social responsibility of scientists, academicians,professors, candidates of sciences and ordinary teachers in front of each person individually. The problem is that power over the social, economic and political processes taking place in society, over nature is intertwined with impotence in understanding the inner world of an individual.
The problem posed by the modern ethics of science is caused not only by relations with society and individuals. An important factor is the protection of copyright and the competence of scientists.
Scientific Status
This is strictly monitored. A scientist, like any other person, has the right to make mistakes. But he has no moral right to falsify. Plagiarism is punishable!
If research claims scientific status, it is required to fix the authorship of ideas in the institute of references (the academic component of science). This institute provides an opportunity to ensure the selection of everything new, indicating the growth of scientific knowledge.
All stages of the ethics of science can be reduced to three components:
- thorough thinking along with precise execution of all stages of research;
- checking and proving new scientific facts;
- strive for truth, clarity and objectivity along the way.
A special place is given to the problem of the obsession of a scientist, his separation from reality, when he, doing intensive science, becomes like a robot. Among the frequently encountered phenomena, scientists exaggerate their own contribution, in comparison with the contribution of colleagues. It contributesthe emergence of scientific controversy, violation of scientific correctness and ethics. There are also a number of other problems associated with such behavior of scientists. To minimize such situations, it is necessary that ethical justification precede the course of experiment and research in the scientific field.
