Abstract
The paper is a set of reflections on the moral culture of modern biology built around the author’s experience as a participant observer in two university laboratories. I draw parallels between laboratory culture and organized religion and point out practical problems in conducting scientific research. The notion that good biologists must be atheists is questioned and failures of organized religion are noted. The paper concludes with a suggestion that research ethics should be rooted in laboratory practice and must include vigorous principles of honesty and justice. Those are not requirements imposed from outside but internal requirements of the research community.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Niebuhr, H.R. (1960) Radical Faith and Western Science, in: Niebuhr, H.R., Radical Monotheism and Western Culture, Harper and Brothers, New York.
Niebuhr, H.R. (1960) Science in Conflict with Morality? in: Niebuhr, H.R., Radical Monotheism and Western Culture. Harper and Brothers, New York.
Gustafson, James M. (1981) Ethics from a Theocentric Perspective. University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Merton, Robert K. (1973) The Sociology of Science: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations. Edited and with an introduction by Norman W. Storer. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Barbour, Ian (1990) Religion in an Age of Science, Harper Collins, New York.
Griffiths, Anthony J.F., Miller, J.H., Suzuki, D.T., Lewontin, R.C. and Gelbart, Wm.M. (1993) An Introduction to Genetic Analysis, 5th ed. W. H. Freeman and Company, New York.
Alberts, Bruce, Bray, D., Lewis, J., Raff, M., Roberts, K. and Watson, James D. (1994) The Molecular Body of the Cell., 3d edition, Garland Publishing, New York, pp. 3–40.
Rensberger, Boyce. (1994) American Science: Losing its Cutting Edge? (II), The Washington Post (December 26), pp. A1, A22.
Anderson, Melissa, and Louis, K.S. (1994) The Graduate Student Experience and Subscription to the Norms of Science, Research in Higher Education 35 (3): 281.
Mitroff, I. (August 1974) Norms and Counter-Norms in a Select Group of the Apollo Moon Scientists: A Case Study of the Ambivalence of Scientists, American Sociological Review 39: 579–595.
Niebuhr, Reinhold. (1963) An Interpretation of Christian Ethics, 1935 reprint edition, The World Publishing Company, New York.
Bayles, Michael. (1989) Professional Ethics. 2d edition, Belmont Publishing Company, Belmont, California, pp. 80f.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Research for this project was made possible by a grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. Judith A. Granbois has provided invaluable editorial assistance.
An earlier version of this paper was presented at a conference sponsored by National Science Foundation on Mentoring and Research Values: Students as Vital Human Resources, Chicago, USA, March, 1995.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, D.H. Notes on a pilgrimage to science: A fly on the wall. SCI ENG ETHICS 7, 615–634 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-001-0018-6
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11948-001-0018-6