The Political Responsibility of Scientists
In a previous post I have discussed the integrity of science and attempts by governments to suppress or misrepresent scientific findings, for example those related to climate change that do not fit their political agenda.
In history, infamous examples of scientists who have allowed themselves to be misused are Timofeev Lysenko and associates in the Soviet Union, who made teaching Mendelian genetics a criminal offence, because it supposedly contradicted communist doctrine, and the “deutsche Physik” of the Nobel Prize winners Philipp Lenard and Johannes Stark, who acted from sheer and undiluted anti-Semitism, declaring the physics of Einstein and others (among them, at least for a while, so-called “White Jews” like Werner Heisenberg) as “Jewish” and not conforming to the “German spirit”, of course utter rubbish. More recent examples include, in my opinion, all those in several countries who permit that their findings on climate change are suppressed or misrepresented. Considering what is at stake, these latter cases (and there are many documented ones) are at least as dangerous as the examples further back in history.
The problem of the moral responsibility of scientists is discussed in two brilliant plays, one by the great German poet and playwright Bertolt Brecht, the other by the German-Swiss playwright Friedrich Dürenmatt:
Bertolt Brecht: Leben des Galilei (Life of Galilei): Galileo Galilei, in the play (which does not claim to be historically accurate), gives in to the Inquisition because, among other things, he loves the good life. He thus compromises the integrity of science and “gives away” a unique historical opportunity to safeguard the moral responsibility of scientists.
Friedrich Dürenmatt : Die Physiker (The physicists): a “grotesque” comedy, in which three inmates of a mental asylum pretend to be Einstein, Newton and Möbius, the latter the inventor of the “world formula” which, if misused, can lead to the destruction of the world. “Einstein” and “Newton” are, in fact, not mad at all but want to get hold of Möbius’ formula. Möbius is not mad either, he uses the asylum to hide his formula. When Möbius realizes what “Einstein” and “Newton” are after, he destroys his work, which, however, has been copied by the director of the asylum, the only person (a woman), who really is mad and wants to use the formula to rule the world, because King Salomon has instructed her to do so.
If you don’t have the chance to see the plays on stage, read them! If you are a scientist, make sure you have the backbone required to stand up for the truth, and not only in your narrow field of expertise! And what about the idea of including a course on scientific integrity and responsibility in science curricula?