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    %SCIENTISTS TECHNOCRATS VALUES IDEALS COMMUNITY 900130

     Scientists, technicians and their related technocrats
feel,    think,    and   behave   according   to   certain
characteristic   habits   of  mind   and   heart.    Their
characteristic attitudes focus their attentions upon means
of manipulation and control; i.e., ways to achieve already
chosen goals. In characteristic ways such means tend to be
consumptive  of  limited  resources  and  insensitive   to
considerations of personal and communal integrity.

     The  apparent success of such means  breeds  expanded
use, the depletion of limited resources and the generation
of   increasing  amounts  of  garbage  and  entropy.   The
successes  also  breed insensitivity to the  problems  and
dilemmas which the successes bring.

     It is foolish for a community as a whole to judge the
successes  of scientists,  technicians and  their  related
technocrats  in terms of the values and ideals which drive
the scientists,  technicians and their related technocrats
to  behave as they do.  The scientific/technical  paradigm
does  not contain within it the means of transcending  the
value judgments in terms of which it operates; even though
it  does contain within it the means of correcting  purely
technical mistakes and errors.

     Tragic   mistakes   which  are   made   in   choosing
fundamental values and ideals are not technical  mistakes;
they  are fundamentally different from technical  mistakes
and  it is foolish to think that the  scientific/technical
paradigm  contains within it the means of identifying  and
correcting such non-technical mistakes.

     Thus  it  is that a community as a whole  needs  with
integrity  to  seek the wisdom with which  to  make  value
judgments  regarding the value to the community as a whole
of the behaviors,  techniques, attitudes, beliefs,  values
and   ideals  which  are  characteristic  of   scientists,
technicians, and their supportive technocrats.  Leadership
in making such assessments needs to come from all kinds of
citizens,   and not primarily from within the community of
complementary scientists, technicians and their supportive
technocrats.

     It  will  be difficult to encourage those people  who
are   best  qualified  to  shed  light  upon   scientists,
technicians and their related technocrats to be people who
have  the confidence and courage which is needed  to  shed
such light,  and so enlighten others and encourage  others
to perceive the situation clearly and without bias.   Thus
it  is all the more important to encourage such people  to
make the effort.
                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
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