Science and ethics

Every scientific research requires ethical reflection. We should be concerned about ethics in everything we do, but especially in science. In our country or for example in Europe society is characterized by a rich plurality of ethical and cultural traditions and by the law. To ma e a reflection on ethics we should have updated information about everything that surrounds us and about all the normative changes. In this way, we will respect the ethics whenever we ma e a scientific research.

In democratic societies ethics in science have become a very important issue especially because of the rapid progress in research and development. !ll types of science, li e medical science, animal science or environmental science are to be addressed by ethical questions at a certain time. "eople who ma e scientific research can#t no longer say that science is neutral and they must thin about the ethical aspects of their wor .

$ac in time, science was thought to be a very dangerous thing. %ome people have even been sentenced to death because they did scientific research or they believed in free science and philosophy or other theories. This happened even to &alileo &alilei, but those days are over now and people have learned to accept science in their lives and to accept whatever things are discovered, but this only if that respects their beliefs, ethics and values.

'ow science has an important influence on the development of the society, even though some people are still disturbed. t is, therefore, necessary to conduct ethical discussions in order to adapt the use of scientific nowledge( namely new forms of technology(to a general context that is in agreement with the basic principles of our civilization. %cientists should be concerned about the use of scientific nowledge and they should address the ensuing ethical questions, both in general terms and in terms of their own wor .

Today, the meaning of )ethics) is more or less equivalent to that of )morals), which comes from the *atin word )mos, moris) and also means custom or behaviour, but at a more personal level. +oralists, such as 'ietzsche, %antayana and ,ussell, claim that ethical values are rather personal interpretations, deliberations or preferences and not general principles that can be proven true or false. !s scientific progress becomes increasingly fundamental to society, it is constantly challenging, if not completely clashing with, long held beliefs concerning our ethical values

Indeed, discussions about the ethical foundations of a society and their reinterpretation usually ta e place when traditional customs or behaviors are challenged by new developments. In a static society, values are well codified, usually by religion or by tradition. This is true for numerous ancient societies, which remained unchanged for centuries. 'evertheless, wars, invasions or a new culture or religion usually prompt the evaluation of the traditional values.

%cientific progress, the driving force for the ma.ority of the changes witnessed in the /0th century, requires a critical mind, free of pre.udice and open to new ways of thin ing. The rapid development of modern science since the ,enaissance is due mainly to the postulate that scientific theories should be independent of theological or religious beliefs.

The relationship between public and private research is the source of further ethical issues, which are important not only for the research community, but for all sectors of society. 1niversities and public research institutes encourage their scientists to request funds from industry and to patent their results.

I am convinced that this topic is so sensitive because society does not have an informed opinion and therefore still has to find a consensus. !gain, this is a question of hierarchy of values2 is the life of a frozen embryo more important than a cure for a disease3 ! moratorium to suspend research using human embryonic cells must include both the public and private domains since

to allow the latter to continue would be true hypocrisy. 4f course, no restriction should be imposed on research using adult stem cells or embryonic stem cells isolated from animals. 5owever, I thin it would be difficult to establish such a moratorium for several reasons.

6irst, it should be respected all over the world and not only in some nations. %econdly, it would be difficult to reach a consensus on a moratorium since patient associations and the industrial sector would certainly lobby for the continuation of this research. Thirdly, we should recognize that scientists have an intellectual, but also a practical interest, since results may be obtained more easily with embryonic rather than adult stem cells. 6inally, a moratorium would not be an ethically neutral option, since it may delay the possibility of curing patients. !lthough a moratorium is probably not realistic, it is necessary to find solutions that ta e into account the ethical problems of all sectors of society. !nd this requires not only that society becomes more conscious of the different aspects of the issue, but also that scientists become more conscious of the ethical aspects of their wor .

What are the most important ethical implications of scientific research and the development of new technologies3 In 7888, 1'E%94 and I9%1 organised a World 9onference on %cience, for governments to discuss problems regarding science and society. They eventually approved a document, the )%cience !genda(6ramewor for !ction), that contains a chapter on ethical issues. !s this document was approved following thorough consultation with all 1'E%94 member states and informed discussion with their respective scientific communities, it can be considered a useful reference to identify and deal with ethical problems that stem from scientific research in a general context.

I really believe that people should evaluate in the same time with the society and that they will learn how to accept the progress of science as well and start to believe that this will ma e us greater and greater.