With
anything, people all have different opinions on what is right and wrong and
this comes down to our personal morals and ethics. Science is very important in
our ever changing world and is constantly making headlines, especially the
ethical side of it.
Without
ethics, we would allow anything to happen in the way of science and everything
would be out of control. Although science is really important to our
development as a species and the environment we live in, it also causes a lot
of issues. These issues come about even with the use of ethics, making me not
wanting to think about what it would be like without any.
There
are a few different aspects to ethics in science. The first is ethical
integrity, largely in the research and testing side of science. It is important
that the truth is always presented when researching and testing, to ensure that
correct information is passed on. This means that all research and results must
be looked at equally and fairly so that no bias is created.
Another
aspect to the ethics of science is the testing. This is especially important
and largely looked at especially if animals are involved. Most people see
animals as sentient beings whose deserve respect and to be treated accordingly.
If the environment is involved this can also cause controversy, especially if
there is potential for damage to it. Everyone has different opinions as to what
the limits of testing is and this is a part of the issue. There are some
restrictions put in place but some people believe these are not enough like the
use of animals for medical testing.
It is
hard to find an intermediate place where everyone is happy with the ethical
side of the science, and where science can be practiced and developed, but
would be very beneficial if this were to be achieved.
2 comments:
Showing the different aspects to ethics really highlights on why ethics matters. Agreed that science would be out of controls if ethics were not placed. I believe that without ethics you could not trust any results that you read which is highlighted in your first aspect to ethics. Ethical integrity is a major part of science. I find the second aspect you have introduced to be a very touchy subject. While there are people around who are 100% against animal testing, but without it, a lot of medical breakthroughs would not have occurred.
This blog post made me think a lot about scientific discoveries and, especially in the old days, what it must have cost ethically to solve some of those mysteries. Animal testing is an issue debated far and wide in many countries - this shows that there is will never be one clear answer. As you suggested - on one hand, products need to be safe to use, however using animals for our own gains does not seem right. That elusive intermediate will be hard to find. I enjoyed how this post made me examine how I perceived some of the issues you brought up.
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