Arthur Kantrowitz has been an articulate proponent of creating a science court designed to improve such decision making. The court would weigh scientific data pertaining to an issue apart from its political and moral considerations. As a current example, the Reagan administration's SDI program is a controversial public policy issue with an obvious scientific and technological dimension. Just as clearly, it has political and moral dimensions. A science court might be asked to render a judgment on the technical feasibility of deploying a shield in space that would guard against incoming ballistic missiles and its economic costs relative to other technical options for achieving the same ends. In this and all other matters put to it, the court would leave aside political and moral questions, such as, should a space shield be deployed?
Central to the concept of a science court is a belief in the utility of separating the ...
