Search Site

Ethics in Science

 
 
 

Presentation

 
The Working group on Ethics in science aims at promoting integrity, responsability and solidarity within the scientific community, including its relationship with the society at large.
Aims at developing a common perception and support of the cultural, ethical and legal value of science and research within Europe.
 
 
Presentation by John Finnley on:

Joseph Rotblat and Pugwash:

Nobel Peace Prize 19951

“My short-term goal is the abolition of nuclear weapons, and my long-term goal is the abolition of war.” Sir Joseph Rotblat.

“If ever these evils are eradicated, his name should stand very high indeed among the heroes.” Lord Bertrand Russell.

Introduction: a quick overview

Joseph (Józef) – known to many of us as Jo – Rotblat was born in Warsaw on 4 November 1908, the fifth of the seven children of a Jewish family. He saw hardship as a boy, with his father’s nationwide horse-drawn transport business collapsing when his horses were requisitioned for the army in World War I. His education was severely disrupted; he could not attend school regularly and began training as an electrical technician at the age of 12½. Being therefore unable to obtain the secondary school certificate required for university entry, while working he studied part-time in the evenings at the Free University of Warsaw, from where he graduated in physics in 1932.

To read the whole speech by John Finney download the PDF (1.37 Mb)


John Finney
Dept of Physics and Astronomy, University College London
and The British Pugwash Group
 
 
An International Colloquium:

« In the spirit of Sakharov »

Science, ethics and politics : yesterday and tomorrow

Was held on November 21, 2008, Collège Doctoral Européen, Strasbourg, under the aegis of Euroscience and with the patronage of the European Parliament, the French national commission for Unesco, the European academy of sciences, letters and arts, and the La Ferthé foundation... Read more>>
 
 
After the First World Conference on Research Integrity :

Fostering Responsible Research


Lisbon, 16-19 September 2007

The final report of the Conference co-chairs Anthony Mayer, European Science Foundation (ESF) and Nicholas Steneck, US Office of Research Integrity (ORI) is now on the conference site :
www.esf.org/conferences/integrity/
All presentations are accessible there, including the « Action oriented Summary » by Peter Tindemans, the conference rapporteur... Read more>>
 
 

ESF to host world conference on research integrity

 
Addressing the urgent need for fighting fraud, forgery and plagiarism in science world-wide, the very first World Conference on Research Integrity is set to facilitate an unprecedented global effort to foster responsible research in Lisbon, Portugal from 16 to 19 September 2007... Read more>>
 
 

Appeal to European and World leaders to eliminate the nuclear weapons threat

 
Information from Lydie Koch Miramond, convenor of the "Ethics in Science" Working Group :

The threat of nuclear annihilation, by accident or design, remains the greatest threat to civilization confronting Europe and the World. The 480 US nuclear weapons based in Europe contribute to this threat. We call upon European and World leaders to take action in confronting and ending this threat. For the safety and security of the peoples of the World, we appeal... Read more>>
 
 

Defense of Scientist's Human Rights

 
Scientific research and the defense of human rights share common values (aspiration to universality, regard for precision and transparency, critical spirit) and they are enterprises called to join forces and throw light on each other, for better against worst.
 

Urgent call for support of Dr Igor Sutyagin (Russia)

 
Pressure for the liberation of Dr Igor Sutyagin urgently needed!

Euroscience through its workgroup "Ethics in Science" is involved in the defense of the Russian scientist Dr Igor Sutyagin, a researcher at the U.S. and Canada Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, sentenced to 15 years of hard labour on August 17, 2004, for high treason in a closed trial, far from international fair trial standards, raising serious concerns that the case has been brought for political reasons. For further information, see the Joint statement by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Helsinki Federation of Human Rights, the Moscow Helsinki Group and the Public Committee for the protection of Scientists, on:

http://web.amnesty.org/library/print/ENGEUR460262004.

He was transfered to the "High Security Colony" M-222 (Komi) on September 1st, 2004,

see: http://sutyagin.org/eng/
 

Continuing support for Pr Yuri Bandajevsky (Belarus)

 
Euroscience through its workgroup "Ethics in Science" is involved in the defense of the Belarusian scientist Pr Yuri Bandazhevsky.
Pr Yuri Bandazhevsky, former director of the Medical Institute in Gomel, was sentenced to eight years imprisonment in June 2001; his conviction is related to his scientific work on children diseases consecutive to the Tchernobyl disaster and his open criticism of the state authorities's policy.
He was sent to relegation on May 29, 2004.

ES President letter to the Council of Europe expressing the unanimous support from Euroscience General Assembly to Prof. Bandajevsky.
 

Libération du scientifique biélorusse Bandajevsky

 
LYON, 6 août 2005 (AFP) - La scientifique biélorusse Youri Bandajevsky, spécialiste de médecine nucléaire condamné en 2001 à huit ans de réclusion au Bélarus pour avoir notamment critiqué la gestion de l'après Tchernobyl, a été libéré vendredi soir, a annoncé samedi à l'AFP la Commission de Recherche et d'Information Indépendantes sur la Radioactivité (Criirad)...Lire plus>>
 

Youri Bandajevsky: Latest news

 
Professor Youri Bandajevsky is currently (July 2006) in Clermont-Ferrand (France), at the invitation of the University of Auvergne and various local institutions. He is in conditional freedom since August 2005, after four years of hard conditions in Belarus.... Read more>>
 
 

Current events and publications

 
  • International Conference: "International humanitarian law and impunity of powerful states - the case of the United-States" Paris 22-24 September 2005.
    "Those who seek to bestow legitimacy must themselves embody it; and those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it" Kofi Annan

  • The international conference "Images of Science - New Interactions between Science and Society" was organised by the Rathenau Institute, the Social Sciences Council and the All European Academies of Science (ALLEA) in Amsterdam on 6 and 7 December 2004.

  • The Truth Telling Project, aimed at the protection of Wistle Blowers, initiated by Daniel Ellsberg, the author of «Secrets: a Memoir of Vietnam and the Pentagon papers »

  • The Royal Society Policy, issued on 19 April 2004: "The individual and collective roles scientists can play in strengthening international treaties" http://www.royalsoc.ac.uk/document.asp?tip=0&id=1346

  • Conference "Governance of the European Research Area: The Role of Civil Society" Brussels, 12-13 June, 2003, contact: philippe.galiay@cec.eu.int

  • ESOF2006: one (or two) sessions on Ethics in science during ESOF2006 are being thought of; the interested members are kindly requested to contact: lkoch@cea.fr
 
 

The main contributions of the WG in 2003-2004

 
  • During ESOF2004, the first European Science Open Forum, we organised a session on "The social responsability of the scientific institutions". Three speakers, Margaret Somerville, Barbara Rhodes and Gerard Toulouse, addressed these and related questions: "Do scientists have a duty to alert to the possibly harmful consequences of their work? Do modern societies allow them to express their concerns? Can the social responsability of scientists be discharged collectively through scientific institutions? " . See the report [REPORT OF THE ESOF2004 session.doc] and ES News 29, Autumn 2004, p6.

  • The International Workshop on "Ethics in the European space", co-organised with ALLEA (All European Academies) on April 4 - 8, 2003, held at the Fondation des Treilles (Tourtour, France) ; the five days were devoted to : i) general issues, including 'modern science and its relations with religion, law and politics' (2 days) ; ii) focus on a major theme in bioethics : ethical and legal aspects of stem cell research (2 days) ; iii) practical and comparative issues ; European space and best practices : what are the main urgencies and how they should be addressed (1 day).

  • The book entitled "Les scientifiques et les droits de l'Homme", dir. L. Koch-Miramond & G. Toulouse, ed. Les Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 2003 ; it contains three parts : i) education in ethics and human rights ; ii) scientists and the civil society ; iii) bioethics : legal and ethical aspects (orphan illnesses, genetic engineering, etc.). This book is a follow-up of the Symposium "Science et droits de l'Homme", organised by the WG at Unesco (8-9 May, 2001)
    read the Symposium "Science et droits de l'Homme"report (pdf - 6.9KB)
 

The main contributions of the WG in 2002-2003

 
  • The International Workshop on "Ethics in the European space", co-organised with ALLEA (All European Academies) on April 4 - 8, 2003, held at the Fondation des Treilles (Tourtour, France) ; the five days were devoted to : i) general issues, including 'modern science and its relations with religion, law and politics' (2 days) ; ii) focus on a major theme in bioethics : ethical and legal aspects of stem cell research (2 days) ; iii) practical and comparative issues ; European space and best practices : what are the main urgencies and how they should be addressed (1 day).

  • The book entitled "Les scientifiques et les droits de l'Homme", dir. L. Koch-Miramond & G. Toulouse, ed. Les Editions de la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme, 2003 (in press); it contains three parts: I) education in ethics and human rights ; II) scientists and the civil society ; III) bioethics : legal and ethical aspects (orphan illnesses, genetic engineering, etc.). This book is a follow-up of the Symposium "Science et droits de l'Homme", organised by the WG at Unesco (8-9 May, 2001)
    read the Symposium "Science et droits de l'Homme" report (pdf - 6.9KB)

  • Report of the International Committee of Bioethics (IBC), Unesco, Working Group on Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis and Germ-line Intervention, 2002, Hans Galyaard [ This report, as well as the one on Solidarity and International Co-operation between Developed and Developing Countries concerning the Human Genome, and the draft reports on the Follow-up of the International Symposium on "Ethics, Intellectual Property and Genomics and Collection, Treatment, Storage and Use of Genetic Data are available on the IBC website :
    www.unesco.org/ibc/en/actes/index.htm

  • Pugwash Workshop on Science, Ethics and Society, 27-29 June 2003, Paris, France
    see the Pugwash workshop report
 
Copyright 2007 Euroscience.org
Site by