Issue40【0806G desperado小组】第六次作业 by charry

charryUID: 2426204

TOPIC: ISSUE40 - "Scholars and researchers should not be concerned with whether their work makes a contribution to the larger society. It is more important that they pursue their individual interests, however unusual or idiosyncratic those interests may seem."

WORDS: 422         TIME: unlimited          DATE: 2007-12-18

Outline:
1.   Individual interests and curiosities drive scholars and researchers with great impetus.
2.   Researchers should take account of the contributions to society under the impulse of individual interests.
3.   Research activities cannot damage the well-being of individuals or do harm to our society.

Man is always a social and natural product. We view sociality as the essential characteristic of human. What we are doing in the research activities is, as a rule, the balance between the individual interests and certain requirements of our society, even if we cannot reach agreement on the point of view with some individuals.

Individual interests and curiosities drive scholars and researchers onwards with great impetus during the science discovery period. Interest is one of the best teachers for all people. We could hardly imagine what kind of society we are living in without the convenience and prosperity brought about by modern technology, which is mostly motivated by individual interests. Without the fascination for natural phenomenon and the ability of acute observation, can Newton, an English physicist and mathematician, discover the law of universal gravitation? Without having a strong interest in mathematics, can scientist Alan Turing make significant contributions to computers and then be regarded as the foundation of computer science and the artificial intelligence?

However, the science discovery of researchers does not entirely belong to themselves; at the same time, it should be a part of our society and even a part of mankind. Admittedly, as a scholar or researcher, first and foremost, he or she should take account of the contributions to society under the impulse of individual interests. Thomas Edison, who held a world record of 1093 patents for inventions such as the light bulb and phonograph, not only became a famous enterpriser, but also made a strong impact on technology and enormously contributed to our society at that time.

In addition, scholars and researchers may not care the contributions to the society but devote their whole life time to scientific research. The key problem is, for cognitive limitations of human, it is not certain that whether or not their research activities will damage the well-being of individuals or do harm to our society as a whole. Whatever individual interests, the society cannot endure those researches which may produce side effects in the future. Because of moral and ethical challenges from advanced technology, many countries have explicitly prohibited to clone a human being as well as banned the associated research of cloning technology. Therefore, besides state and local laws, we must obey the moral and ethical rules, social conventions and so forth.

In a word, individual interests and curiosities indeed play a vital role in scientific research. However, as scholars and researchers, it is necessary for them to take into account doing more contributions to society with fascination.