When we talk about the responsibility of researchers and ethics/responsible conduct, we don’t generally think about researching the context of wider ethical responsibility and the potential for societal abuse. This interesting book chapter situates research within broader societal ethics.
Moral issues concerning the use and abuse of science are broached in this chapter. Scientists have responsibilities to conduct their research in such a way as to respect and acknowledge the contributions of others and to present their work honestly and without seeking to avoid criticism by misleadingly overestimating random error. The onus on scientists of a wider social responsibility for informing the public and guiding decision makers is also discussed, together with the reciprocal responsibilities of decision makers to ensure that they are informed and able to understand the bearing of new knowledge.
Needham P. (2020) The Use and Abuse of Science. In: Getting to Know the World Scientifically. Synthese Library (Studies in Epistemology, Logic, Methodology, and Philosophy of Science), vol 423. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-40216-7_4
