In all areas of human activity, there are certain moral standards. Science is no exception! Scientists must obey the system of moral standards, universal moral requirements and prohibitions: do not steal, do not lie, and a number of other well-known principles.
General concepts of the laws of morality in science
Moral law can be divided into two stages:
- personal morality of a person;
- ontological morality of logical 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 knowledge are important.
A field such as the ethics of science affects the plane of moral laws and all pseudoscientific reality. In the modern world, not only science, but 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 problem that the ethics of science raises is of secondary importance. But this is far from reality. On the contrary, with the development of technology, ethical issues are becoming increasingly relevant. And in past centuries, they made sense and were considered by scientists as important issues.
In connection with the foregoing, the question pops up to the surface: can we talk about scientific ethical neutrality? How should one treat science itself from an ethical and moral point of view: as originally pure, chaste, or as sinful?
Two directions. First
Considering this problem, scientists identified 2 different lines.
The first suggests that the ethics of science is neutral, and all processes associated with the inhuman use of its achievements are entirely justified by society. The thesis of the neutrality of science is quite common. Its origins go back to D. Hume's famous judgment of facts. This line gives science 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 are neutral, because they act as a means after making ethical choices. But to ethics itself, the scientific method must be applied.
Responsibility
According to J. Ladriere, 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 opportunities, but you cannot know in advance all the consequences. Consequently, the responsibility of science is, first and foremost, an awareness of the actual role that it plays in the event of dangers and inevitable consequences. She is obliged to accurately inform what is at stake, to seek appropriate measures to limit risks and prevent potentially dangerous situations.
The second direction. Sociality
The second line is gaining momentum in the second half of the last century (XX century). It is characterized by an understanding that science is not ethical neutral. It is socially and morally conditioned from the very beginning. At the same time, the scientist is a responsible person. He must be prepared for the effects of science on society. Society, the ethics of science and the responsibility of a scientist are highly interconnected. Therefore, it is necessary to be aware of the social mechanisms leading to the abuse of results in order to take measures to prevent negative processes. A scientist must be able to withstand social pressure leading to participation in malicious activities.
Ethical standards
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 a theft. It is unacceptable to give out others' results as ours. The same goes for ideas. A scientist should be a researcher of truth, new knowledge, a seeker of reliable information. These are people who possess qualities inherent in courageous individuals, capable of both defending the truth of their beliefs and admit, if proved, the fallacy of judgment.
According to many philosophers, the ethical link in science is endowed with an emotionally colored complex of prescriptions, rules, customs, values, beliefs, predispositions, which the scientist must adhere to.
Development and specificity
The modern problem of ethics in science has some features subordinate to the complex of sociocultural factors of society.
Particularly acute are the issues of relations between the scientific sphere and society and the so-called social responsibility. It is very important to understand what direction the achievements of science have, whether they will carry knowledge directed against a person. Of course, the development of biotechnology, genetic engineering, medicine made it possible to target various functions of the human body, right up to the correction of hereditary factors and the creation of organisms with specified parameters. It became available to man to design new forms of life endowed with qualities too different from those known so far. Today they talk about the danger of the appearance of mutants, human clones. These questions affect the interests, ambitions and daring of not only scientists, but all the people of planet Earth.
The specificity endowed with the problem of ethics in science is that the object of a large number of studies is the person himself. This poses a certain threat to its healthy existence. Such problems create research in genetics, molecular biology, medicine and psychology.
Issues and Principles
Scientific ethical problems are divided mainly into physical, chemical, technical, medical and others. Ethics in medicine touches on a wide range of issues related to human life: reproductive technology, abortion, the status of the human embryo, transplantology, euthanasia, gene technology, experiments using living beings, including humans. And this is only part of the issues raised. In fact, this list is much longer.
Therefore, the rules of 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 seek reasonable solutions. In turn, the scientist must anticipate all possible options for the occurrence of the adverse effects of his research.
All scientific and technical decisions should be made after collecting the most complete and reliable information that will be justified from the point of view of morality and society.
All the principles of the ethics of science can be reduced to the following concepts:
- truth is valuable in itself;
- scientific knowledge must be novel;
- scientific creativity is endowed with freedom;
- scientific results must be open;
- skepticism needs to be organized.
Honesty in science and adherence to the above principles are very important. After all, the goal of research is to expand the 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 kinds of falsifications.
Such violations contradict the essence of science as such - a systematic research process aimed at obtaining knowledge based on verified results. In addition, they undermine the faith of society in the reliability of scientific results and destroy the mutual trust of scientists, which is the most important condition for scientific work today, when cooperation and the 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. A very important question is the place of morality in the system of other social relations.
The very subject of ethics has changed significantly over time. Initially, it was a school for educating a person in virtue. It was seen as a call of the person to fulfill the divine laws to ensure immortality. In other words, it is the science of the formation of a new person, disinterested and fair, with a sense of unquestioned duty and knowledge of how to implement it. There is no doubt that discipline is characteristic of such a person.
The ethics of science studies the laws of morality of society and the individual, and each scientist is primarily a person, a member of society. Therefore, he cannot do harm to himself and others.
Of course, principles and a set of rules alone will not be enough to completely prevent all kinds of dishonesty in science. For this, appropriate measures are required to ensure that all those involved in research activities are informed about the standards of scientific ethics. This will make a significant contribution to reducing violations.
How are the ethics of education and science related?
Education is on a par with the state, economy, family and the culture of social institutions. There is a direct correlation of the state in this area and citizenship, morality, state security. Education directly ensures the socialization of the individual. As you know, without education there is no science. Today, this system is cracking at the seams. Many do not want to hear about morality. Both high and high schools are influenced by commerce. Traditional morality has lost power.
Modernity and Ethics
Unfortunately, today the first place is not the knowledge of the applicant, not his passion for science, but the size of the wallet of parents who are able to pay for educational services.
This leaves the general availability of knowledge in prestigious educational institutions. There is a degradation of human relations and mass culture. But the consumer attitude to life, recklessness and primitivism flourishes.
Therefore, the ethics of science and society should raise the issue of social responsibility of scientists, academics, professors, candidates of sciences and ordinary teachers to each person individually. The problem is that power over social, economic and political processes taking place in society, over nature is intertwined with powerlessness in understanding the inner world of an individual.
The problem posed by 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 a mistake. But he has no moral right to falsify. Plagiarism is punishable!
If research claims scientific status, it is imperative to record authorship of ideas in the institute of links (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:
- careful thought along with the accurate conduct of all stages of the study;
- verification and evidence of new scientific facts;
- the pursuit of truth, clarity and objectivity along the way.
A special place is given to the problem of the scientist’s obsession, his separation from reality, when he, studying intensively in science, becomes like a robot. Among the frequently encountered phenomena, one can single out the exaggeration by scientists of their contribution, in comparison with the contribution of colleagues. This contributes to the emergence of scientific debate, violation of scientific correctness and ethics. There are also a number of other problems associated with this behavior of scientists. To minimize such situations, it is necessary that the ethical justification precedes the course of the experiment and research in the scientific field.