Thursday, October 7, 2010

Baconianism today

To put Baconianism in today's world, one can look at how various groups lobby against certain scientific advancements. Scienctific research is influenced by the moral jugdments of various political, social and religious groups who represent different communities within society. One most recent example is cloning. The first sheep to be cloned from a human cell was Dolly. She caused a host of countries to ban cloning for some time due to ethical reasons. In the states, the National Bioethics Advisory Commission makes sure scientific 'elites' stay within a certain moral boundary. In Canada, there is a governmental "Research Ethics Board" that monitors scientific advancements. Scientists may discover and offer to us much of what we know about the natural world, but overseeing bodies within society also keep them from taking steps that many consider "wrong" on an ethical basis.

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