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本帖最后由 wu-intrepid 于 2010-2-23 09:14 编辑
ISSUE69 - "Government should place few, if any, restrictions on scientific research and development"
Although science brings about many benefits for our lives, the modern history also reveals that it causes numerous damages. In two Word Wars, for examples, millions of people died in the advanced weapons. It seems necessary to restricting on science, in order to decrease the destructions coursed by science. Yet, in fact, making this claim results from misunderstanding between using of science and science itself, may block the progress of human society.
First, since government is not a scientist. Government officers do not know relavant knowledge about science, and can not make right projects about the scientific development. Government regards science as a means of governing, and the aim of interfering is to make the consequence of scientific research support its dominion. Copernicus, for instance, who we still remember builds Heliocentric universe. The church (the church was as the government in that time) arrested this theory, due to its opposition the idea of governing,
and did not care it right or wrong. Thus, if the government has adequate power to interfere the scientific research, may decline the speed of the progress of science.
Further, the pace of science may not cease by the intervention of governments. Which may be ineffective and invalid, and the only consequence is making the scientific researches in their nations fall behind other countries. Such as the Bush, who makes policy to prohibit the research of embryonic stem cells, which has great potential in medicine area. For his affirmation, many scientists, who are specialized at this area, go to other countries to do this research. Now, the researches advance a lot in many countries, while not in American. Now, Obama abolish the restriction of this scientific research, in order to enhance the level of people health by using of the medicine effect of embryonic stem cells. Thus, the restriction of Bush just makes
this scientific research in America behind other countries, which do not be ended in the worldwide.
Government always claims what they interfere is only some unethical scientific researches. It seems that some applications of scientific researches are immoral, in the manufacture of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons. However, it means some uses of science are unethical, not the science itself. For science is concerned with the facts, and facts in themselves have no moral meanings. It is the immoral uses of science that make the disasters to our lives, which are the true issues governments should interfere.
Therefore, governments should identity the distinction of use of scientific research and science itself. On this basis, hold an free attitude to scientific development, while intervene the unethical applications of the outcomes of scientific researches. |
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