Shaping the Future: Biology and Human Values is a report from the National Research Council. It examines the ethical implications of advances in biological science and technology, and offers recommendations for policy makers and researchers. This book is an important contribution to the ongoing discussion of how to balance scientific progress with human values. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Science and Human Values was originally a lecture by Jacob Bronowski at MIT in 1953. Published five years later, it opens unforgettably with Bronowski's description of Nagasaki in 1945: 'a bare waste of ashes', making him acutely aware of science's power both for good and for evil. After such knowledge, what forgiveness? With care and erudition Bronowski argues that scientific endeavour is an essentially creative act, part of a great shared human interest in ourselves and the world around us; and, routinely, a process of trial-and-error, the end of which is not - cannot be - preordained. 'Above all, Bronowski strove to make science and technology answerable to social progress, to 'human values.' He anticipated the deepening gap between the 'two cultures' and knew that the sciences must be restored to a place in political common sense.' George Steiner

A thought-provoking discussion of the various ways in which science, technology, and medicine influence social philosophies and choices. Social attitudes, values, and ethics are analysed for their roles in decision- and policy-making. Citing case studies -- the continuing debate surrounding sociobiology, the role of peer review in formulating recombinant DNA research policy, societal guidance of medical experimentation, and the application of risk assessment to nuclear reactor safety -- Lowrance argues that society will be better served by a technical stewardship that extends beyond narrowly defined concepts of responsibility. This book will be of great interest to a wide range of medical researchers, scientists, ethicists, and lay readers.

The seminal study of the effects of the scientific revolution on human psychology.