Padrão de Resposta

In a lecture for the Charles University and Academy of Sciences, Jennifer Allen Simons discusses the relations between science and ethics. She states that, at some point in time, science has been deviated from its original path – that of controlling nature and enhancing men’s life – to another that is centered in controlling the means to destroy both nature and men. She also argues that the ancient idea of perfecting the self through spiritual progress has morphed into the alteration of the body through external technological manifestation. Citing Schweitzer, Simons ponders that if the scientific model of nature remains detached from the human factor, then it is only a matter of time until we reach inhumanity. And even though the direction of the development of science is not inevitable, but rather shaped by humanly made options, philosophy has not been useful to help shaping the development of science towards civilisation values. She ends the lecture in an optimistic socratic vein, stating her faith in the good nature of men.