This-essay is a8401212.htm which is available at the
web-site www.essayz.com. See more notes at the bottom.
Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay
By-Months By-Years By-Words
Webs of Like-&-Un-Like ESSAYS <==> Like-&-UN-Like This-One
==========================================================
%VALUE-NEUTRAL SCIENTISTS? 840121
Some people have believed in the myth of
value-neutral scientists. Scientists were presumed to
transcend dealing with values by being objective,
dealing with issues which were not matters of mere
opinion. If scientists are careful to deal only with
questions which can be answered objectively they
presumably do not deal with values which are open
to debate and differing opinions which can not be
settled objectively.
To purify the myth---the term "science" was used
in many instances where it would have been more honest
and revealing to talk about the behavior of people
who are scientists. The abstraction "science" is value
neutral because "science" has never done anything,
"science" can not be held accountable for misdeeds,
"science" can not behave responsibly---because
"science" can not behave in any way whatever. It is
misleading to use the word "science" in reference to the
actions of people. Reference should be made to
scientists, preferably to specific scientists and/or
their professional societies and their leaders.
Scientists can be held accountable only when it is clear
whose actions are to be evaluated.
It is impossible for scientists to be value-neutral
because they spend their own time, lead others to spend
their own time, lead others to spend time, expend
financial resources, and occasion the consumption of
natural resources. All spending of scarce resources
involves values judgments. The spending of the intellect
of youth who study what scientists tell them to
study---involves values judgments on the part of
scientists and their students. It is dishonest for
scientists to pretend to be involved in value neutral
activities.
The setting of priorities in the study of scientists'
discoveries is full of value judgments. There is not
enough time to study all discoveries, so decisions must be
made to study some but not others. Those decisions will
significantly affect human welfare and are value
decisions. It is time that to treat such decisions as the
political decisions which they are.
(c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in
www.essayz.com Search for Integrity and Honesty
(On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)
==========================================================
Lines beginning with a percent sign are KEYWORDS for use
in ESSAY-System Searches. Their terminal digits are dates
of writing in the format @yymmdd#, where @ = a means 99,
@ = b means 20, and # = is a within-date essay-count.
Links to date-adjacent essays are near page top & bottom.
Find the following links by clicking on CENTER when CENTER
near the top or bottom of a web page of essayz.com
1. Go to HOME PAGE of essayz.com
2. Find brief-essays via keywords
3. Find brief-essay about ADDICTION
4. Search-Helps related to ABOVE-LINK
5. GoTo Action & Information Center
6. Find Regular-Essays via Year/Month
7. Find Regular-Essays via Word-Starts
8. Find Regular-Essay about LOVE
This-essay is a8401212.htm which is available at the
web-site www.essayz.com. These 5 lines echo top lines.
Previous-Essay <== This-Essay ==> Following-Essay
By-Months By-Years By-Words
Webs of Like-&-Un-Like ESSAYS <==> Like-&-UN-Like This-One