Karnataka - Bangalore   

‘Don’t blame technology, look at its application’

Bangalore: “I am a simple laboratory scientist. I have been inside a laboratory my entire life.” These were the modest words of P. Balram, Director of Indian Institute Of Science, as he began his lecture on ethics of science, the fifth in the series of the annual Dr. K. Eapen Endowment Lecture at the United Theological College on Saturday.

Dr. Balram took the audience through the works of eminent scientists and their worldview, drawing attention to how people’s interpretations of science and related issues have changed with time. Citing the example of Newton’s Third Law ‘Every action has an equal and opposite reaction’, he said how the laws of mechanics are well known but often misquoted.

He dwelled on how politicians conveniently choose what they want from science, while ignoring the context in which theories or laws are put forth.

He also talked of the limited freedom that scientists have in expressing their opinion. When a hypothesis is expressed, it has to be proved to be either true or false. Being a scientist himself, he understood the difficulty of his ilk to explain to people what exactly their work comprises. Moving on to the issue of ethical dilemmas in science, he said it is the application of a technology that should be contemplated and not the technology itself.

To support his argument, he quoted Albert Einstein who said that when science is used for private profit and destruction, it is not the fault of science or the scientist.

As an example Dr. Balram mentioned Fritz Haber, who won the Nobel for the discovery of the synthesis of ammonia which is the fundamental process for production of fertilizers, and how this discovery was time and again hailed, and then condemned for no fault of Haber’s.

The latter half of his lecture threw light upon ethical issues in genetic medicine, including stem cells and genetic engineering.

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