The Censoring of science with government regulations can seem like it is restricting scientist’s ability to share their knowledge with one another. In the article, “Censoring Science Won’t Make Us Any Safer” the author (Donohue, 2011) says, “Citizens are entitled to know when their milk, their water, their bridges their hospitals lack security precautions” (p. 397). The author believes that United States citizens have a right to know when they are in danger. To refute this argument, would be to say that, if the government does not have some sort of regulation set up to inhibit the sharing of biological secrets, our nations security may still be at risk. Donahue believes that censoring science is putting the United States at the same risk as not censoring. The author states “the effort to suppress scientific information reflects a dangerously outdated attitude.” Donahue supports this claim by explaining several cases in science where sharing information on microbiological studies have helped science move forward. The author mentions an article that was published describing how susceptible the United States milk supply is to the botulinum toxin. This article was suspended by the National Academy of Science because they believed it to be a “road map for terrorists” (p. 1). The author believes however, that instead of censoring such an article this information should be shared, this way other scientists will be able to discover ways to defend against terrorist attacks. Most scientists want to be able to share their data. Scientists are autonomous by nature. Begelman (1968) refutes an argument made by I. L. Horowitz who is a scientist that believes that the government is in “gross violations of the autonomous nature of science”. B... ... middle of paper ... ...mbered by scientists who just want a little more freedom. The United States is the freest country in the world, and in order for it to stay that way it needs to stay protected with censorship and the use of caution. References Begelman, D. A. (1968). Is Science Autonomous?. American Psychologist, 23, 70. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/article.cgi?issn=0003066x&issue=v23i0001&article=70_isa&search_term=%28title%3D%28is+science+autonomous%29%29 Messenger, E., Gooch, J., & Seyler, D. U. (2011). Arguing About Science. Argument! (pp. 396-398). New York, NY: Mcgraw-Hill Co.. Selgelid, M. (2007). A Tale of Two Studies:Ethics, Bioterrorism, and the Censorship of Science. Project Muse, 3, 35-43. Retrieved February 13, 2011, from http://journals.ohiolink.edu/ejc/article.cgi?issn=1552146x&issue=v37i0003&article=35_atotsebatcos
This summer we had an opportunity to dive into the world of bioweapons, through Richard Preston’s novel The Demon in the Freezer. His book explored the colorful world of smallpox and its use as a biological weapon. Earlier this week we were graced with this authors present for an ACES event. He discussed some of the found topics in his book such as animal testing, what small pox is, and even its eradication. One of the great things we had the chance of vocalizing were our many opinions on the gloom associated with this intriguing disease.
The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston is an intriguing book that discusses the anthrax terrorist attacks after 9/11 and how smallpox might become a future bioterrorist threat to the world. The book provides a brief history of the smallpox disease including details of an outbreak in Germany in 1970. The disease was eradicated in 1979 due to the World Health Organization’s aggressive vaccine program. After the virus was no longer a treat the World Health Organization discontinued recommending the smallpox vaccination. In conjunction, inventory of the vaccine was decreased to save money. The virus was locked up in two labs, one in the United States and one in Russia. However, some feel the smallpox virus exists elsewhere. Dr. Peter Jahrling and a team of scientists at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland became concerned terrorists had access to the smallpox virus and planed to alter the strain to become more resistant. These doctors conducted smallpox experiments to discover more effective vaccines in case the virus were released. Preparedness for a major epidemic is discussed as well as the ease with which smallpox can be bioengineered.
Scientific research is constantly being battled in politics. The point of communication in science is to try and get across a proven theory to the public. Under the scrutiny of political agendas, these efforts face many hurdles. Informing the public of climate changes has had a positive impact on the acceptance of science. There are several techniques the scientific community communicates their findings to the public.
Furthermore, to think that science is immune to the power establishment, one must assume that it is in no way affected by government or companies with money to spend. This, like the assumption that science is neutral, is also incorrect. In order for a scientist to be funded in his research, he must submit proposals to those power establishments that have money. These powerful companies and governments will only fund those projects they deem important to their interests and goals. In this way, science is extremely political in its effort to obtain money and support because it must please those power establishments who are, by nature, political.
In Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed (2008), Ben Stein travels the world to expose the incarceration in the realm of science. Stein’s goal is to rile up the audience to stir up desire and motivation of the voice of the people to bring down the unjust wall in scientific academia. Ben Stein fails to persuade his active viewing audience that universities have used unfair practices to exclude research and believers in intelligent design from the scientific community, but succeeds in persuading the unpretentious and idle audience. Ben Stein losses his credibility and ultimately his persuasive power through the use of misrepresentation of messages and facts, fallacies of ethos, pathos, and logos, and the digression from the main point of the documentary. The unpretentious audience overlooks these fallacies and is persuaded through the visual tools in the documentary.
Aldridge, Alexandra. The Scientific World View in Dystopia. Ann Arbor, MI: UMI Research Press, 1984.
It is clear throughout the “Double Helix” that there are a set of well-defined norms that underlie the actions of the researchers in the labs discussed by Watson. These norms are consistent throughout Watson’s tale and shape much of the narrative, they include: competitiveness between labs, a vast network of interdisciplinary shared information that Merton would refer to as communism, and a rigid hierarchy that determines to some extent whose work is deemed credible. These norms affected each of the players in Watson’s book to different degrees, and both helped and hindered the advancement of discovery.
In the article Donohoe claimed that censoring science slows scientific advancement. Keeping secrets and failing to share information and materials could put the United States in danger and unable to protect citizens from dangerous materials (Marshall). The United States government
Fodor, Jerry (1997), “Special Sciences: Still Autonomous After All These Years”, Philosophical Perspectives 11: 149-163.
As time has progressed, a divide has been created between scientists and those who strongly...
The morning of September 11, 2001, Americans experienced vulnerability and realized a new fear, the threat of a bioterrorist attack. In the days that followed the terrorist attacks letters tainted with anthrax began appearing in the U.S. mail. Five Americans were killed and 17 were sickened in what became the worst biological attacks in U.S. history (“Amerithrax or Anthrax Investigation”). Bioterrorism is defined as a criminal act against unsuspecting civilians and a threat to national security with the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or germs. An attack of bioterrorism is meant to cause illness or death by microorganisms that are found in nature, but they can be made more harmful because of an increased ability to cause and spread disease which resists medical treatment. These biological agents can spread from person to person or can be released into the food supply, water, or air. They can be hard to detect because they may not cause illness for hours or several days, thus giving terrorists an advantage allowing them to go escape undetected until symptoms arise and an attack is suspected. Biological weapons are appealing because they are often easy to obtain and inexpensive, and can be easily distributed. The main objective of bioterrorism is to cause panic and terror, not necessarily casualties. The social disruption they cause can be far worse than any actual damage.
By using various ethical tools we can justify why bioterrorism is wrong and if right then to what extent. In order to get rid of huge destruction we need to have solutions which are concerned with these ethical issues. By killing so many innocent people we are question humanity. Anybody who is doing research, his/her knowledge should not harm anyone. Any work should be based on beneficent development and make wise use of scientific knowledge. These days at international airports, there is a strict security check on what we are carrying with us from the other country. It is to make sure that we are not carrying anything that can result in bioterrorism. There are things like plants, spices and some food items that are not affecting the native country but can affect some other country adversely in the allergies and spread throughout the nation. There should be a restriction of spreading of information and knowledge about the ‘dual-use’ technology to those groups who think that this information can help them developing and spreading bioterrorism. The review and monitoring of the procedure by an ethical committee should ensure that the benefits of the research is more than the risks and harm. There should be strict laws and regulation to keep a check on these activities and those who do not abide by these regulations must get
The natural sciences is a world the general public will either dive into head first to exploit research out of fear and ignorance or to coexist with and celebrate recent advancements and discoveries. Whether or not the public stands and cheers or sulks and cries is entirely dependent on the accessibility of information and data that is available for public discretion and evaluation. People remain ignorant about many scientific advances that have paved the path for potential scientific solutions in major areas including cancer research, prenatal health, pediatric medicine, and genetics. However, sometimes the disregard for the aforementioned scientific triumphs is not entirely the fault of the public. The media has an incredible influence on what the community sees and hears, as well as swaying public sentiment and opinion by including or excluding fragments of information or by how the media presents their acquired information.
Studies in pathology also aid to the likeliness of a successful attack. In the past, we have studied how a disease could be placed to cause the optimal number of deaths. The secret program that was run from 1932 to 1945 at Camp (now Fort) Detrick, in Frederick, MD, staged 239 pathology related open air experiments. These experiments used benign bacterial substitutes to track how clouds of bacteria spread in the environment (Drexler). A terrorist that gets access to the data from these experiments or th...
For centuries, government nations and society have been withholding certain pieces of information from the public to ensure safety and prevent catastrophic out bursts; this detainment of public knowledge is called censoring. Censorship started in the early twentieth century, when profane literature began to surface in the wake of World War I; ever since then it's been a normal part of all society. Without the use of censorship and the methods used to sustain information, society would evolve and erupt into complete and utter chaos.