This book makes a forceful case for the scientific aspirations of ethics and for the necessity of ethics to our humanity. It is written as a challenge to those who are reluctant to recognize that science can deal decisively with questions in ethical theory. It throws new light on group responsibilities, apparent oughtness, and the responsibility we have for expanding our awareness of responsibilities.

Valuemetrics is an elaboration of Robert S. Hartman's innovative development in the application of an abstract system to the study of ethical problems. The system used for this purpose is a branch of logic called set theory. Set theory fulfills this role because goodness, the fundamental phenomenon of ethics, is defined axiomatically in terms of sets. The similarity of structure between certain elements of set theory and the various types and degrees of goodness makes mathematical accounting of goodness phenomena possible. In the valuemetrics context, value judgments are considered as an assessment of the goodness of something. Therefore, the mathematical system for the accounting of goodness serves as a tool for objectively making many kinds of value judgments and possible attendant ethical decisions. One of the results of this conception, attributable to Hartman, is the birth of the science of ethics. The first half of the book elucidates the theory, terminology, and mathematical system used in valuemetrics, known as Hartmanean algebra. The second half is devoted to the application of this system to the measurement and development of a person's value vision, and the solution of various problems in ethics using the case study technique. Hartmanean algebra will resolve several types of problems such as the determination of right and wrong, good and bad; determining how to redress and amend instances of wrongs and badness; and how to determine when, if ever, wrongs and badness are justified.

An essential introduction to the study of ethics in science and scientific research for students and professionals alike.

Does nature have intrinsic value? Should we be doing more to save wilderness and ocean ecosystems? What are our duties to future generations of humans? Do animals have rights? This revised edition of "Life Science Ethics" introduces these questions using narrative case studies on genetically modified foods, use of animals in research, nanotechnology, and global climate change, and then explores them in detail using essays written by nationally-recognized experts in the ethics field. Part I introduces ethics, the relationship of religion to ethics, how we assess ethical arguments, and a method ethicists use to reason about ethical theories. Part II demonstrates the relevance of ethical reasoning to the environment, land, farms, food, biotechnology, genetically modified foods, animals in agriculture and research, climate change, and nanotechnology. Part III presents case studies for the topics found in Part II.

This title was first published in 20/11/2001: The intellectual and practical successes of science have led some scientists to think that there are no real limits to the competence of scienece, and no limits to what can be achieved in the name of science. This view (and similar views) have been called Scientism. In this book, scientists' views about science and its relationship to knowledge, ethics and religion are subjected to critical scrutiny. A number of natural scientists have advocated Scientism in one form or another - Francis Crick, Richard Dawkins, Carl Sagan, and Edward O. Wilson - and their impact inside and outside the sciences is considered. Clarifying what Scientism is, this book proceeds to evaluate its key claims, expounded in questions such as: is it the case that science can tell us everything there is to know about reality? Can science tell us how we morally ought to live and what the meaning of life is? Can science in fact be our new religion? Ought we become "science believers"? The author addresses these and similar issues, concluding that Scientism is not really science but disguised materialism or naturalism; its advocates fail to see this, not being sufficiently aware that their arguments presuppose the previous acceptance of certain extra-scientific or philosophical beliefs

This valuable book, written specifically for library and information science professionals, presents 125 case studies that combine theories of ethics and librarianship with practical, real-life scenarios. After an introduction to ethics in library and information science, chapters are devoted to ethical issues in five categories: intellectual freedom, privacy, intellectual property, professional ethics, and intercultural information ethics. Each chapter has a theoretical introduction to the issue under consideration followed by 25 case studies, each of which includes its own set of discussion questions. Perfectly suited to classroom use, these case studies help bridge the complicated gap between students, academics, and practitioners in the field by promoting critical thinking and responsible action. Instructors considering this book for use in a course may request an examination copy here.

Of all the books written about the problems of sustainable development and environmental protection, Sustainable Development: Science, Ethics, and Public Policy is one of the first to examine the role of science, economics and law, and ethics as generally applied to decision making on sustainable development, particularly in respect to the recommendations contained in Agenda 21. Specifically, the book examines the role, capabilities, and certain strengths and weaknesses of these disciplines and their ethical implications in the context of sustainable development problems. Such an analysis is necessary to determine whether sustainable development problems create important new challenges and problems for government so that, where appropriate, new tools or approaches may be designed to overcome limitations or take advantage of the strengths of current scientific, economic and legal capabilities. Audience: Environmental professionals, whether academic, governmental or industrial, or in the private consultancy sector. Also suitable as an upper level text or reference.

Towards the end of 1943 and during all of 1944 the war on all Fronts was relentlessly and violently building to a dangerous and complex climax Although the Allies had massively invaded Europe in the early summer of 1944, we didn't see German capitulation for almost a year and even then only after the Russians, renewed from their awful Battle of Stalingrad, were rolling west into the very heartland of Germany, taking Berlin block by block, building by building. With equal ferocity the Allies had rolled east. Eisenhower was poised fifty miles west at the Elbe River. April 30th, Hitler killed himself. Two days later Berlin capitulated. American losses in "Europe" totaled 170,000. The German end came fast. Although the World celebrated Victory in Europe on May 5th Germans had been surrendering in big numbers through late April and early May. By May 15th Allies had imprisoned five million German military personnel. Some of the best news I heard was the surrender of 153 German submarines. The foe in the Pacific would prove as implacable. In contrast to the land war in Europe, for us the war in the Pacific had always been a sea war with island invasions and battles taking place over great distances. A few months after Pearl Harbor the author went to war in the Engineering Department of a shipyard in Los Angeles Harbor and enjoyed a brief but rigorous engineering apprenticeship earning an "Industrial Deferment", which required draft board renewal every six months. In late summer of 1943 the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy accepted him but with a "string attached". Unlike the other three Federal academies, this Academy required a six-month "tour of duty" at sea, preceded by ninety days of "Basic Training", wartime or peacetime.

This open access book discusses how the involvement of citizens into scientific endeavors is expected to contribute to solve the big challenges of our time, such as climate change and the loss of biodiversity, growing inequalities within and between societies, and the sustainability turn. The field of citizen science has been growing in recent decades. Many different stakeholders from scientists to citizens and from policy makers to environmental organisations have been involved in its practice. In addition, many scientists also study citizen science as a research approach and as a way for science and society to interact and collaborate. This book provides a representation of the practices as well as scientific and societal outcomes in different disciplines. It reflects the contribution of citizen science to societal development, education, or innovation and provides and overview of the field of actors as well as on tools and guidelines. It serves as an introduction for anyone who wants to get involved in and learn more about the science of citizen science.