Physics (Internal)

The Ethical Responsibility of Scientists

This event is part of the Physics Department Colloquia Series.

I will argue that scientists, as subject matter experts and citizens, have the ethical obligation to understand the potential for misuse of science and technology and to educate the public and decision makers. But unfortunately, scientists have usually not been trained to consider the societal consequences of the applications of science and technology. I will thus also argue that there is an urgent need for ethics and policy education for scientists and for science education for policy makers. To illustrate the necessity for these actions, I will discuss relevant examples from the science of climate change, energy policy, nuclear weapons, and missile defense.

Charles D. Ferguson is the President of the Federation of American Scientists and the author of Nuclear Energy: What Everyone Needs to Know (Oxford University Press, 2011). He has worked on nuclear policy issues for the past two decades for non-governmental organizations and government agencies. Trained as a nuclear engineer in the U.S. Navy, he graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy and earned a Ph.D. from the Department of Physics at Boston University.