Logic, methodology and philosophy of science VIII proceedings of the eighth international congress of logic, methodology and philosophy of science, and philosophy of science proceedings) ( PDFDrive ) 76

ETHICS AND SCIENCE 57 implementing it would imply the death of the foetus: losing the foetus is considered as the “lesser evil” (a situation not to be confused with that of killing the foetus as a means of saving the mother) Situations of the kind envisaged here are not rare in the field of applied science, and in many cases they may be treated not as questions of “all or nothing”, but rather in terms of a balance of “costs and benefits”, which enables one to reduce the risk or the impact of the negative consequences, by reducing the measure of realization of the goal However, discourse about costs and benefits is possible and correct when the alternatives are homogeneous and allow a common unit of measure, but it is much more difficult or even impossible when we are confronted with a real conflict of values In these cases the problem appears to be inevitably of an ethical nature Even though consideration of the consequences is chiefly a problem for applied science, it is not totally alien to pure science, since not so much the discovery of truth as its communication may raise moral questions Already in everyday life it could be said that “telling the truth” may not always be a moral obligation, due to its consequences For example, it might be right not to tell a sick man the truth about the severity of his illness, if this would seriously lessen his chances of recovery Or, a man submitted to torture by the secret police of a dictator, who denies having accomplices (to avoid their being persecuted or killed) is not morally blamed as a liar, but is highly esteemed The analogy with scientific truth is not that dramatic, yet it is not unusual that scientific discoveries or theories be communicated to the public in a sensationalistic way, accompanied by superficial and gratuitous interpretations, with possible negative impacts on people’s ways of thinking, and on their appreciation of life and values This is not always a fault of the media, but sometimes also of more or less distinguished scientists, who indulge in superficial popularization or even in a partisan interpretation or extrapolations of the content of science At a time when science has attained such high prestige and has such a tremendous influence on the thoughts and feelings of men, the honest and morally scrupulous dissemination of scientific truth has become a major ethical imperative The plurality of values A common denominator of the reflections presented here is the recognition of the existence of a plurality of values, none of which can