Επιστήμη και ηθική | Patricia S. Churchland

Can science tell us, for any particular moral dilemma, what option our conscience should take — in other words, which is the morally right choice ? No. Science cannot do that. Factual evidence can, however, assist with the decision. Science, along with all kinds of knowledge, can provide relevant facts — facts that decrease uncertainty regarding the consequences of an action, for example. Assembling the relevant facts can decrease the likelihood that we will eventually regret our choice. If you know that using a certain pesticide will result in the death of native bees that are needed for pollination, then that knowledge is relevant to determining whether to use the pesticide. If sex education for adolescents is known to reduce the number of unplanned teen pregnancies, that knowledge is a factor in figuring out whether sex education should be part of the school curriculum. Science can also weigh in on the social ef...