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Ethics of Science

Science gradually emerged as an ideology offering directives to its followers to regulate their social life in a distinctive way in comparison to the way of life of their forefathers. J S Mills advocates that science never refers to the advancements taking place in a given faculty of knowledge. He asserts that in 19th century Europe the discoveries made in the world of physics, biology and chemistry not only enriched the distinctive discipline rather discoveries made by scientists should contribute for the transformations in the quality of life of man therefore he believes that the essence of science is to make a secular society possible where the quality of life of men will be distinctive in comparison to the other stages of human history. Ethos of science includes that truth should be explored on the basis of scientific experimentation. Observation, questioning are the foundations to the science. Science gives importance on adherence to impersonal and universal form of knowledge and can be shared by the entire humanity. Science gives importance on discoveries, innovations and progress that can bind the nation states together. Science advocates that man should explore nature in search of human advantage. Thus the powers of nature will be used transform the quality of life of man. Science is greatly committed to the insistent search for the truth and man should pursue learning and research for all times to come conceptualizing that more man learns still there are many things to learn. Finally science abandons mysticism, emotion and interpersonal relationship on the basis of values.

It talks about objectivity, individual orientation, and glorification of merit. The spirit of science has contributed for a transformation of not only the technological character but also the cultural character of modern societies. Science has given rise to the death of emotions. Sudhir Kakkar in Science, hegemony and violence says that science has given rise to the growth of situation in which the doctor considers his patient as ginni pig making all kinds of experimentation on patient's body and paying little attention to his feelings and emotions. Science has taken away emotions from man's heart reducing him into state of matter. Science has broken down interpersonal relationship respect for culture. According to Bina Dass in The mirrors of Violence that communication revolution and revolution of entertainment is the gift of science to man. The alarming growth of juvenile delinquency is the impact of electronic media on the life of the young people. She advocates that youth behavior is taking a violent turn which can be considered as their over exposure to the products of science. In addition to that electronic machines have taken away so much of time from man either in the form of necessity or in the form of entertainment that man has no time left out for pursuing his culture by performing rituals, visiting kin or communicating with the members of immediate family.

Science through its discoveries made an attempt to promote world peace, human happiness, change in the quality of life but the discoveries of science and monopoly over the scientific products and dependency on these scientific products by the privileged nations has led to the division of world into three blocks: First world, Second world and Third world. Science is instrumental for the perpetual division of the human race that cannot ever be bridged. Finally scientific innovations have been used to exhibit political arrogance and the discoveries of science are used to expand terrorism, political might make the life of man absolutely insecured. Science the product of man and his mind is mastering over man contributing for perpetual suffocation and disillusionment. During renaissance it was thought that the ethos of science would take man away from the world of pains, hierarchy, misfortune and hunger to the stage of prosperity and dirt. It was believed that the ethos of science will glorify the values of rationality, individualism, competition, mutual respect for law, devotion to profession and as a result romantic theories were written in the glory of modern society to which Comte considers as positivistic or scientific stage. Spencer identifies it as industrial society and Durkheim explains as organic solidarity. The subsequent scholars singing songs in glory of modern industrial society talk about convergence theory advocating that all industrial societies equally give importance to rational education, equality of opportunity, political stability, longevity of life, better life style, effective balance between nature and culture and consequently human development. Wallenstein and R Aaron advocate that despite political differences, ethos of science have identical influence to both communities and socialism the other nations of the world are going for industrialization to invite and inculcate the spirit of industrialism at a future date. To make scientific world possible different institutionalized programmes are introduced. A testimony to that is globalization of democracy and economy and privatization of the economic life and search for occupations. However critics to this approach advocate that search for science has contributed for the decline of west. The work culture, over commitment to law has taken away peace of mind from man, his emotions are hijacked in search of prosperity, and his identity is lost in urban way of life, his dreams are shattered in the competition. Thus David Riesman finds out that man is reduced into a non-entity, emotionless matter in modern society. It can be advocated that the nations of the world have failed to establish a negotiation between the call of conscience and the call of emotions. As a result the ethos of science stood against the human aspirations shattering human dreams. Thus time has come when introspection about the values of science solicited which could only drive man to use the discoveries of science and the ethics of science in a culturally approved manner. It will make the use of science according to the needs of the people than man being enslaved to the clutches of science.

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