Scientific advances cannot compensate for society’s failure of nerve and commitment to the common good.
The World Science Day for Peace and Development may seem to express nostalgia for a lost past more than hope in a realisable future. Even at the turn of this century, it might have reassured us that science had helped develop weapons so powerful that they made war impossible.
It had also developed forms of communication, of transport and manufacturing which brought nations together in ways that benefited them all. Trade and science were universal in their reach and had encouraged a mobile society that profited from them. In this world war was seen as primitive and wasteful.
RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT
Science, too, had enabled the development of resources across the world through genetic engineering, fertilisers, advances in computer technology, medicine and engineering. Ordinary people could now live better and healthier lives than had the barons of previous centuries.
For many people, however, that sunny view has given way to despair. Scientific developments in weaponry have made war more destructive and likely. In continuous wars powerful nations use the participating nations as proxies without fear of retaliation. People now speak openly about the possible use of nuclear weapons. The vision of uniform and unending development that benefits us all is seen as just a mirage. The capture of scientific work and the technology by a relatively few wealthy and humanly limited people have contributed to climate change that threatens our descendants and artificial intelligence that threatens to limit rather than expand our human lives.
In this situation we still look to science for discoveries and technologies that will contribute to a better world. But we recognise now that we need a change of heart and change of priorities at every level if we are to limit the harm they can bring with them.
PROPHETS
We now need scientists to stand like prophets at the gates of our human city to warn us of the costs of inactivity. They must tell us how idle it is to expect scientific advances to compensate for our failure of nerve and commitment to the common good.
Many climate scientists have already accepted this responsibility. They have invited us to reflect more deeply on the place that science and scientists have in society. Like economics, science is an important area of human life; scientists consequently have some authority in deciding how we should order our society. They can tell us how our world works and estimate the consequences if we change or settle for maintaining the way in which we have lived. They cannot tell us authoritatively, however, what we should do. That will depend on what we value most and how we negotiate the conflicting claims involved any change.
RELATIONSHIPS
We all, including scientists, are part of that conversation. It demands of us respect for the good of society including its weakest members. We need to attend to all the relationships that shape our humanity and our world and be prepared to sacrifice our own interests for the good of others.
The World Day of Science for Peace and Development speaks especially to scientists. But it is also vital for the future health of the world. Science is a human gift from which we all can benefit. But that demands being part of the conversation.
Fr Andrew Hamilton SJ is an editorial consultant at Jesuit Communications
