[Values-ethics] contribution - "Value-based and ethical insights must be brought to bear on the search for ways to harness scientific, technical and economic creativity": No.

[Claude Almansi]

Hi, Ana, Theresa and Helen

I'm copying the content of your attachment here, for those of us who do not
use MS Word (1), before answering you about it.

<< The ethical dimension of the information society involves the creation of
a code of practice - based on values such as cooperation, equity, honesty,
integrity, respect and solidarity - that will have a significant impact on
the quality of interaction between cultures and the promotion of meaningful
dialogue among civilizations.



Value-based and ethical insights must be brought to bear on the search for
ways to harness scientific, technical and economic creativity. Every person
and every nation has a part to play - and a responsibility - in building a
peaceful, prosperous and sustainable global society based upon harmony and
understanding. The fostering of an ethic of service for the common good is a
means to implement noble aspirations such as those expressed in the
Declaration of Principles and the Plan of Action




Knowledge, wisdom and values have always been transmitted orally, especially
in traditional and indigenous cultures. The value of this type of human
communication should not be underrated in the face of modernization. Only
when information is based on truth and integrity, and technology is used to
facilitate and enhance human interaction and education that expands the
creative potential of the human mind, can we envisage a better society.




Real social and economic development cannot be created through simple
formulae based merely on finance or the propagation of technological
programmes. Materialistic approaches alone will never succeed in building
capacity of individuals and communities to determine their future.>>

"Value-based and ethical insights must be brought to bear on the search for
ways to harness scientific, technical and economic creativity", though
well-meaning, is a dangerous sentence. The Church forcing Galileo to retract
was acting on value-based and ethical insghts and harnessing a scientific
creativity that threatened a world model, it could be argued. Then there is
"vérité en deça, mensonge en delà des Pyrennées" factor. Some school-boards
in Kansas tried to censor all mention of Darwin in the curriculum and
banning all books mentioning evolutionism from schoo libraries because it
went against their members' creationist creed.

But without going to such extremes in integrism, think of the debate about
therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning research, or about GMO's. In
the latter case, it is legitimate to try to harness the commercial
exploitation of organisms whose properties are not yet fully known. It is
NOT legitimate to hinder research in that field. In the cloning example,
which is indeed an ethically complex issue, some governments are just
clamping down on all cloning research, whether therapeutic or reproductive.

What should be harnessed is the ruthless exploitation of  "scientific,
technical and economic creativity" - not the creativity itself.

And I wouldn't be surprised if the Tunisian government could come up with
plausible "ethical values" for censoring internet access for people's own
good (though  finding such values to justify imprisoning and torturing those
who bypass the censorship might be tougher). The Holy Inquisition was full
of "value-based and ethical insights" too. Not ours, but still "value-based"
and "ethical"

(1) Anyway, can you please avoid attachments of any kind for texts that can
be put within the e-mails? There was no special  formatting in yours. I had
to fish out your e-mail from the ashcan where all e-mails with attachments
go straight.