You are here: Home / Future students / Course search

Science and Ethics

HPSC3024

Science is a powerful institution but its reputation as a noble pursuit of truth was tarnished by a number of developments in the twentieth century, like the dropping of the atomic bombs in WWII and the involvement of doctors in Nazi medicine. These incidents shook the faith of many scientists and others in the direction of science and the ethics of its practitioners. While science can furnish a strong factual account of the world, it lacks the internal resources to deal with the many normative questions it raises. On its own science cannot answer questions about right and wrong, about how we ought to make decisions and act. Instead it must appeal to ethics to help formulate adequate responses. Throughout the semester we will use the lens of scientific responsibility to frame and explore a number of questions intended to help expose important ethical issues in science, and to help you develop and articulate thoughtful answers and arguments. Such questions will include: Is science objective and value free? What is scientific fraud and does the very nature of the practice of science make fraud more likely? Do scientists have an obligation to disseminate their findings, and how does the increasing role of commercialization effect the responsibilities of scientists? Can we separate out science from its applications and thereby absolve scientists of ethically problematic outcomes? Should some scientific questions simply not be pursued, i.e. do they constitute forbidden knowledge? Can the methods of scientists be unethical and does unethical practice equate to bad science?

Unit of study details

Unit of study level: Senior

Credit points: 6

Commencing semesters: 2

Further unit of study information

Unit of study handbook: HPSC3024

Costs and scholarships information: Costs and Scholarships

Final dates to withdraw from units of study: Census Dates

Available for study abroad and exchange: Yes

Our courses that offer this unit of study