Researchers' Societal Responsibilities: An NAS Primer

Editor’s Note: In an effort to provide tomorrow’s scientists with guidance about the responsible conduct of science, the governing council of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has prepared a 22-page booklet entitled On Being A Scientist. Scheduled for distribution to some 120,000 graduate students around the country, the new publication discusses a wide range of practical and ethical issues in science, from the allocation of credit and responsibility in collaborative research to upholding the integrity of science itself. The idea behind the booklet is to give beginning scientists an idea of the day-to-day activities and difficult decisions faced by researchers. “Traditionally,” said NAS president Frank Press in announcing publication of the booklet, “young scientists have learned about the methods and values of scientific research from personal contact with more experienced scientists, and such interactions remain the best way for researchers to absorb what is still a largely tacit cbde of professional conduct.” In recent times, however with the advent of larger research teams and with the increasing pace of research, “informal transmission values is not always enough,” explained. The following essay is excerpted from the booklet’s final section, which discusses scientists’ role in society. NAS chose to open this section with a quote from Albert Einstein’s address to students of the California Institute of Technology [“Concern for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. .. in order that the creations of our minds shall be a blessing and not a curse to mankind. Never forget this in the midst of your diagrams and equations.”] While scientists have responsibilities to themselves and their colleagues, they also have obligations to the broader society. These obligations are most, apparent when scientific research intersects directly with broader societal concerns, as in the protection of the environment, the humane treatment of laboratory animals, or the informed consent of human experimental subjects. Such obligations are also common in applied research, in which the products of scientific investigation can have a direct and immediate impact on people’s lives. Scientists conducting basic research also need to be aware that their work ultimately they have a great impact on society. World-changing discoveries can emerge from seemingly arcane areas of science. The construction of the atomic bomb and the development of recombinant DNA, events that grew out of research into the nucleus of the atom and investigations of certain bacterial enzymes, respectively, are two examples. The occurrence and consequencesof discoveries in basic research are virtually impossible to foresee. Nevertheless, the scientific community must recognize the potential for such discoveries and be prepared to answer the questions that they raise. The response of biologists to the development of recombinant DNA—first calling for a temporary moratorium on the research and then setting up a regulatory mechanism to ensure its safety—is an excellent example of researchers exercising these responsibilities. The important point is that science and technology have become such integral parts of society that scientists can no longer abstract themselves from societal concerns. Nearly half the bills that come before the U.S. Congress have a significant scien- tific or technological component. The problems facing modern society cannot be solved solely on the basis of scientific information, because they involve social and political processes over which science has no control (though the social sciences can analyze those processes). Nevertheless, science has important contributions to offer in addressing many of society’s problems, and scientists will be called upon to make those contributions. Scientists who become involved with the public use of scientific knowledge have to take time away from work to meet with community groups, serve on committees, and talk with the press. Many scientists enjoy these activities; others see them simply as distractions from research. But dealing with the public is a fundamental responsibility for the scientific community. Concern and involvement with the broader uses of scientific knowledge are essential if scientists are to retain the public’s trust. Interacting with nonscientists also serves a less tangible but still important function. Many people harbor misconceptions about the nature and aims of science. They believe it to be a cold, impersonal search for truth devoid of human values. Scientists know these misconceptions are mistaken, but the misconceptions can be damaging. They can influence the way scientists are treated by others, discourage young people from pursuing interests in science,. and, at worst, distort the science-based decisions that must be made in a iechnological society. Scientists must work to counter these feelings. They should not disguise the human factors that motivate and sustain research or the value judgments that inevitably influence science. They should explain and defend the scientific worldview, a prospect of great beauty and grandeur that ought to be part of how people think about themselves and their place in nature. Scientific research is an intensely human endeavor. This humanity must not be lost in the face science presents to the world. Copies On Being A Scientist can be obtained for $5 by writing to NAS, 2101 Constitution Ave.,N.W Washington, D.C. 20418.

Researchers' Societal Responsibilities: An NAS Primer

The Scientist Staff

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