Should scientists be held accountable for the consequences of their discoveries (yes) or should the accountability of those consequences be held by society (no)?
Scientists have social responsibilities for their experiments
Scientists should be responsible for pushing the limits of unknown possibilities and uncovering discoveries potentially harmful to society. Being responsible would include, conducting research in safe and secure environments. Not pursuing discoveries that would endanger human life as to lead to it's distinction. Society depends on scientists to advance technology, but should not be held accountable for their actions.
Nuclear energy is perfect example
Scientists will tell you how to harness nuclear energy. For what we use it is our wish. For electricity or for bombing are decisions taken by people in power. The people we elect or the people whom we fight for out of fright. A scientist will give you a blade, You can kill, Protect, Cut veggies or commit suicide. It is left to you.
It's what we do with it.
No, scientists should not be held accountable for the consequences of their discoveries, because they do not know all of the consequences of their discoveries. It is hard to know or predict all of the things that a discovery will lead to on down the road. It is our job to have ethics and use our knowledge wisely.
Scientists should not be blamed.
Scientists should not be blamed for the discoveries they make. This is their job. They observe and discover, they experiment and test. They try to find truths and they try to make discoveries. How society reacts and behaves around what is found is not the scientists' fault. This is silly.
sounds like an anti science question
Science just finds the facts. If society doesn't want to except those facts, then society is accountable for the consequences that happen next. Kind of like climate change, half the country does not want to except it, even though 95 percent of all scientists say it is man made and real. Society is going to have to face the consequences for not doing anything when that time comes.
Science is Empirical
Science in its purest form is empirical as data and information lead to new discoveries. Society should be held accountable for how it uses this new science. Nuclear energy is a perfect example--society is using the discovery of atomic energy in a good way as an energy producer. However, some fringe groups would rather use nuclear energy as a weapon to destroy rival political groups.
