"The Spanish Inquisition sought to avoid direct responsibility for the burning of heretics by handing them over to the secular arm; to burn them itself, it piously explained, would be wholly inconsistent with its Christian principles. Few of us would allow the Inquisition thus easily to wipe its hands clean of bloodshed; it knew quite well what would happen. Equally, where the technological application of scientific discoveries is clear and obvious — as when a scientist works on nerve gases — he cannot properly claim that such applications are "none of his business," merely on the ground that it is the military forces, not scientists, who use the gases to disable or kill. This is even more obvious when the scientist deliberately offers help to governments, in exchange for funds. If a scientist, or a philosopher, accepts funds from some such body as an office of naval research, then he is cheating if he knows his work will be useless to them and must take some responsibility for the outcome if he knows that it will be useful. He is subject, properly subject, to praise or blame in relation to any innovations which flow from his work."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Cultural criticsSocial criticsAcademics from AustraliaHistorians from AustraliaPhilosophers from Australia
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
As quoted in The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark (1995) by Carl Sagan.
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Passmore
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
John Passmore
John Passmore (9 September 1914 – 25 July 2004) was an Australian philosopher.
6 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by John Passmore →
Related Quotes
"In the interests of the ideal of maximum output, [our society] judges men by their fitness for jobs, not jobs by thei…"
"The innovator, however, must in the first place be discontented, he must doubt the value of what he is doing or quest…"
"That is why classical Utopias, and the modern dystopias which ironically incorporate their ideals, are static. … The …"
"If “humility” means nothing more than the capacity to learn from criticism, then it has an undoubted value; but if “h…"
"Pride in one’s work carries with it a determination to accept the demands imposed by that work: in the case of philos…"
"Will books, as we know them, come to an end? Yes, absolutely, within 25 years the digital revolution will bring about…"
"We like to think we're free in the ; that we're beyond the forces of advertising and social manipulation by market fo…"
"Communal living: Plato recommended it, 19th-century religious separatists tried it, anarchists and hippies spectacula…"
"Proud Queen of isles! Thou sittest vast, alone, A host of vassals bending round thy throne: Like some fair swan that …"
"And, oh Britannia! should'st thou cease to ride Despotic Empress of old Ocean's tide;— Should thy tam'd Lion—spent hi…"