Science and human rights

"Science and human rights are inextricably linked in many ways. In 1913 former academy member Albert Einstein said in an address to the California Institute of Technology:

"It is not enough that you should understand about applied science
in order that your work may increase man's blessings. Concern
for man himself and his fate must always form the chief interest
of all technical endeavors."



By Eliot Stellar, National Academy of Sciences (U.S.). Committee on Human Rights

This post is about a scientific journal published in 1988 to specifically address the nexus between science and human rights. This is uncharted waters for many "political scientists" approach to human rights, so I thought it to be "nice" when I discovered this journal. Therefore I posted the forward and will briefly discuss where this scholarly journal's analysis looks to be heading. Much to my surprise a very prominent man is mentioned right from the get go!

"The creation of a Committee on Human Rights by the National Academy of Sciences in 1976 was but the formalization of a longstanding concern of the academy about humanitarian issues.

For many years, academy officers have taken private action through fellow scientists, sister academies, and research councils throughout the world in behalf of threatened colleagues. In the 1950s, the academy helped find positions in the United States for Hungarian scientists who had fled their country. In 1966, it provided assistance to Argentine students whose education was interrupted by the closing of the University of Buenos Aires by finding institutions in the United States where they could study.

It is noteworthy that a large number of the academy's roughly 1,500 members are foreign born; many fled their countries of birth because of abuses inflicted upon them and their families by repressive governments. Many of those scientists have gone on to make outstanding contributions to the science and welfare of their nation of adoption, the United States of America."

The authors begin by quoting Albert Einstein which I think is great. But even better is the fact that they acknowledge the human rights assistance they had lent to there scientific colleagues in contribution to there work in science in the name of human rights in my opinion is quite remarkable. Furthermore, "the creation of a Committee on Human Rights by the National Academy of Sciences in 1976, was but the formalization of a longstanding concern of the academy about humanitarian issues." This is even more remarkable evidence of a direct link or nexus between science and the humanities. It is good to see scientists with all there wonderful theories and such, reach across disciplinary studies into the arts and humanities, and into the files of social sciences, in the name of human rights and, to dedicate an entire scholarly journal to science and human rights. The link provided will take you to this journal which provides open access online via Google books. I hope you enjoy.

William