"All knowledge, not only that of the natural world, can be used for evil as well as good: and in all ages there continue to be people who think that its fruit should be forbidden. Does the future wlfare, therefore, of mankind depend of a refusal of science and a more intensive study of the Sermon on the Mount? There are others who hold the contray opinion, that more and more of science and its applications alone can bring prosperity and happiness to men. Both of these extremes views seem to me entirely wrong - though the second is the more perilous as more likely to be commonly accepted. The so-called conflict between science and religion is usually about words, too often the words of their unbalanced advocates: the reality lies somewhere in between. "Completeness and dignity", to use Tyndall's phrase, are brought to man by three main channels, first by the religiouos sentiment and its embodiment of ethical principles, secondly by the influence of what is beautiful in nature, human personality, or art, and thirdly, by the pursuit of scientific truth and its resolute use in improving human life. Some suppose that religion and beauty are incompatible: others, that the aesthetic has no relation to the scientific sense: both seem to me just as mistaken as those who hold that the scientific and the religious spirit are necessarily opposed. Co-operation is required, not conflict: for science can be used to express and apply the principles of ethics, and those principles themselves can guide the behaviour of scientific men: while the appreciation of what is good and beautiful can provide to both a vision of encouragement. Is there really then any special ethical dilemma which we scientific men, as distinct from other people, have to meet? I think not: unless it be to convince ourselves humbly that we are just like others in having moral issues to face. It is true that integrity of thought is the absolute condition of oour work, and that judgments of value must never be allowed to deflect our judgements of fact. But in this we are not unique. It is true that scientific research has opened up the possibility of unprecedented good, or unlimited harm, for manking: but the use is made of it depends in the end on the moral judgments of the whole community of men. It is totally impossible noew to reverse the process of discovery: it will certainly go on. To help to guide its use aright is not a scientific dilemma, but the honourable and compelling duty of a good citizen."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
University of Cambridge facultyMedical scientistsNobel laureates in Physiology or MedicinePeople from BristolNobel laureates from England
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
The Ethical Dilemma Of Science, Hill, 1960. The Ethical Dilemma of Science and Other Writings. Rockefeller Univ. Press, pp. 88-89
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Archibald_Hill
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Archibald Hill
Archibald Vivian Hill, CH, OBE, FRS (26 September 1886 – 3 June 1977), known as A. V. Hill, was an English physiologist, one of the founders of the diverse disciplines of biophysics and operations research. He shared the 1922 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his elucidation of the production of heat and mechanical work in muscles.
3 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Archibald Hill →
Related Quotes
"In the last few years there has been a harvest of books and lectures about the "Mysterious Universe." The inconceivab…"
"To suppose that chemistry and poetry are incompatible (as I am sure Prof Donnan would not do!), or that biology is in…"
"I will boldly say, that England...hath more fallow dear than all Europe that I have seen. No kingdom in the world hat…"
"Moryson is a sober and truthful writer, without imagination or much literary skill. He delights in statistics respect…"
"The most high and absolute power of the realm of England consisteth in the parliament: for as in war where the king h…"
"To be short, the prince is the life, the head and the authority of all things that be done in the realm of England. A…"
"Death at the headlands, Hesiod, long ago Gave thee to drink of his unhonied wine: Now Boreas cannot reach thee lying …"
"Morgagni enjoyed an unequalled popularity among all classes."
"He was probably the most respected man of his time and even more beloved than respected."
"We can find a cure for HIV/AIDS. In Uganda, we are not short of brains, we are not short of ideas, we are just short …"