A recent study shows that scientists are viewed as “amoral” by most of society. From the analysis in Pacific Standard, by Tom Jacobs:

So it seems suspicion of scientists is closely related to people’s views about knowledge-seeking in general. While most of us see that as an unabashedly good thing, social conservatives view it as potentially threatening, as it may lead to questioning or disrupting the norms and values that keep society from falling apart.

In other words, many Americans feel there are places where we should not go, and inquiries that are too dangerous to make. Doctors Jekyll and Frankenstein have clearly left long shadows.

This idea that only social conservatives are wary is bogus. Look at the Left’s hysteria over genetically modified foods, for example.

But here’s the thing: Many scientists believe that only THEY should be allowed to decide what is moral in scientific research. That’s a potential problem since that sector tends to have a distinctly utilitarian outlook that does not necessarily coincide with the values of the public. That can be a problem since much research is funded by us and the goal of many in the sector is to get as rich as Bill Gates, which is fine, but can create ethical conflicts of interest.

Moreover, the areas of scientific inquiry today are ideologically portentous, potentially threatening our view of the meaning and intrinsic value of human life, our economic thriving, and our perceptions of the natural world. Consider this partial list:

• Creating embryos for destruction in research;
• Embryonic stem cell research;
• Human cloning research;
• Germ line gene editing of human embryos;
• Transforming skin cells into ova and sperm;
• Embryonic and fetal genetic testing and destruction of those nascent lives deemed undesirable;
• Global warming analysis and projections;
• Creating human/animal chimeras;
• Reproductive technologies that allow three parent embryos or the implantation of uteruses into men;
• Radical life extension;
• Research into animal consciousness.

These areas of inquiry are too important to allow “the scientists” to be the sole deciders (to borrow W’s term) of what should be encouraged and what areas of research should be deemed off limits. We all deserve a voice in deciding how this most powerful sector of human endeavor shapes our future.

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Cross-posted at The Corner.