8.11issue

meredithluoUID：2707950

23.Government should place few, if any, restrictions on scientific research and development.

Should government place few, if any, restrictions on scientific research and development, as the spearker asserts? Admittedly, scientific research is a process under freedom; however, as the definition of ‘freedom’ suggests, scientific research will not always be beneficial to human beings, without any restriction.

To begin with, it is no denying the fact that the government should place few restrictions on research and development. Firstly, the government should not place constraints on research merely for the simple reason that the result of research is uncertain even controversy. In my view, genuine of research is to explore in uncertain territories and advance in unpredicted direction. If the result of the research is certain and clear, it would become with fewer risk factors, but at the same time would cease to be research. Secondly, the content and meaning of researches often surpass the intellect of the public at that time and sometimes even topple over the common sense in the past which may make them being impeded and forbidden all the time. Consider, for example, Galilei who is hailed as the “father of modern science” gave a denial to the theory of velocity of Aristotle, who dominated the authoritative views at his time. If he chose to keep silence and observe Aristotle’s principle, the development of science in some degree will be hampered. As a matter of fact, it is primarily through the brave and insightful researches upon who we human beings depend to thrive and make consideral progress.

Despite the merits of the speaker’s claim, however, it is wise for government to put constraints on research. In the first place, some researches nowadays are actually at the brink of destroying morality and humanity such as cloning technology, nuclear energy, euthanasia and so forth, which requires government to focus more attention on these researches and place some appropriate restrictions on them to guarantee the safety of the public and development of society. In the second place, government should supervise the process of research and place some restrictions on the researches for the reason that the individual rationality of the researcher is limited which may lead to a lurking danger to the society. The military appliance of the nuclear energy can be a compelling example to illustrate this point.

To sum up, I think it is vital for government to find a balance between the social benefits and social risks. Some regulations had better be made to prevent those scientists from breaking social morality and virtue; in the meanwhile, researcher should have freedom to dig out the mystery of nature, which will aid us to comprehend the world better, under laws and regulations.

冬涧苦雪UID：3277513

jelly0429UID：2809344

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