The Social Responsibility of Academic Science
Increased sensitivity to the currently pressing issue of the social responsibilities of academic science i s apparent throughout academe. The degree to which this increased sensitivity will lead to a forthright and realistic facing of the issue remains to be seen. However, it would be perilous to assume that this matter will fade in importance if only scientists will listen patiently and make token obeisance to the new humanism. If it is true that society needs science in order to survive, then it follows that scientists must comprehend and appreciate the substance of survival. Included in this is total commitment to the preservation and enrichment of human life and liberty. While this commitment has been the immutable core of the scientific code since the dawn of rational science, it needs to be reaffirmed now by actions and attitudes that can be observed by all. Such actions and attitudes surely will be based on the kind of objectivity and prudence scientists have sought to perfect in their own work. Thus, in reaffirming their commitment to enriching the human estate we hope that academic scientists will recognize, especially during this critical period, the importance of directing their research efforts whenever possible toward those prohlems that are properly,in the forefront of national and international attention. I n doing this we believe they also will reaffirm that social responsibility carries with it the obligation to utilize one's experience and competence whenever possible to minimize o r to eliminate
editorially speaking
sources of human ills including- man's inhumanity to man. From this must come the realization that some scientists will perceive their responsibilities so as to reject any part in defense-related research, while others, with no less integrity, will feel compelled to take part in such research. While the right of faculty members and graduate students to pursue research topics of their choice should be protected, research in offensive weaponry and military tactics would appear to be inappropriate in an academic atmosphere. The require ment that any and all research undertaken in the university be supportive of the instructional and research objectives of the institution would seem to have no ethical alternatives. Academic excellence, particularly at the graduate level, is inextricably bound to scholarly inquiry and research. The pursuit of this excellence, the training of graduate students, the development and dissemination of new knowledge-even knowledge that has no ohvious or immediate applicability-also are social responsibilities of the academician. For nearly two decades the American public has made it possible for academic scientists to meet these traditional responsibilities with some ease and with very little interference. I t is now clear that much of the public and a significant portion of the community of scholars are insisting that academic science demonstrate a new dimension of social responsibility. Behind this insistence are some urgency and considerable cogency. WTL
Volume 47, Number 7, July
1970
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487
