Science Innovation and Ethics
Movies in the Classroom
Grade Level - 7-12, college
Subject - Science, Physics, Philosophy,
Ethics
Keywords - Science, ethics, physics, philosophy, film, movie,
Mindwalk, Real Genius, Leo Szilard, Fritjof Capra, The Turning Point, Tristar
Pictures, Paramount Pictures, research
Affiliation - ClassBrain, Inc.
Date - 20 October, 2001
Duration - 2-4 class periods
Background
In the film Mindwalk three
people from different walks of life discuss the earth, the role of science, and
the responsibility of scientists that are involved in innovative research.
Real Genius is a film
about brilliant physics students, how they deal with academic pressure, and how
their finished work is used by an unscrupulous professor.
Leo Szilard, the inventor of the nuclear chain reaction, had
strong feelings about the responsibilities scientists have to the uses to which
their inventions are put.
Objective
Watch the films (or excerpts of the films) Mindwalk and Real Genius, and review select documents on Leo Szilard. Discuss the following
questions:
- Does a
scientist have a responsibility for the ultimate use of their work?
- Can a
scientist track the uses of the innovation? Can a blind man be upset
about his children having tattoos?
- Does
a scientist have the right to control the products of their work?
- If a
scientist’s work is used for a purpose considered to be unacceptable
or unethical by the scientist, what options does he/she have?
- How
can scientists help science advance in a responsible fashion?
- What
is “responsible use?”
- What
precautions can a scientist take to make sure his/her innovation is not
misused?
- Is
it acceptable for a scientist to have the ability to destroy or abort a
misused invention?
- Does
the government have the right to override the protection of a patent?
Resources &
Materials
Internet resources
Available worksheets
None
Film
1: Mindwalk (1991)
A physicist, poet and politician
meet unexpectedly on the island-abbey of Mont St. Michel and discuss physics,
ecology, politics, and literature in an exploration of he world we live in and
the systems that define it.
- Genre(s)
- Drama
- Rating
- PG
- Family
Rating - not available
- Running
Time - 1:10
- Primary Actors - John Heard, Liv Ullmann, Sam Waterston
- Director
- Bernt Capra
- Music
- Philip Glass
- Screenplay
- Fritjof Capra
- Producers - Klaus Lintschinger, Adrianna Cohen
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Film
2: Real Genius (1985)
Physics students grapple with
peer pressure, academic pressure and the use of their work by an unscrupulous
professor.
- Primary Actors - Val Kilmer, William Atherton, Gabriel Jarret
- Director
- Martha Coolidge
- Music
- Thomas Newman
- Screenplay - Neal Israel, Pat Proft and Peter Torokvei.
- Producers - Brian Grazer
- Studio - TriStar Pictures
Reading Connections
1. The Turning Point by
Fritjof Capra
2. On
Being a Scientist: Responsible
Conduct in Research – National Academy Press
Additional Reading Suggestions
Principles of Biomedical Ethics
Ethical Issues in Human Cloning:...
The Quest for Community: A Study in the...
Society, Ethics, and Technology
Related Internet Sources
Leo
Szilard Online
Welcome to the world of physicist, biophysicist, and
"scientist of conscience."
Source: Gene Dannon
A Bibliography of Fritjof Capra
A concise and thorough bibliography, this list covers
Capra’s publications, brief summaries, and a list of foreign editions.
Source: Fritjof
Capra
The Systems View of Life
This web publication consists of
the 8th Chapter of Fritjof Capra's "The Turning Point" - Science, Society and the Rising Culture - which was published
in 1982. The chapter is entitled "The Systems View of Life" and discusses the emergent specifications of life in terms
of recent advances in inter-disciplinary scientific thought.
As a theoretical physicist, author and writer, Fritjof
Capra explores current social, economic and environmental problems and tries to
apply a new vision to their exploration and solution. Capra holds a Ph.D. in
physics on the gravitational collapse of neutron stars from the University of
Vienna in 1966.
Source: Mountain Man
Graphics, Australia
The Online
Ethics Center for Engineering and Science
The Online Ethics Center for Engineering and Science is a
resource center for engineers, scientists, and students, who are working to
understand and address ethically significant problems that arise in their work.
Source: The Online Ethics Center for
Engineering & Science
ELSI – Ethical, Legal, and Social Issues in
Science
ELSI is a pilot project designed
to stimulate discussions on the implications of selected areas of scientific
research. These modules probably will be most useful to educators and students
at the middle school through high school level.
Source: Lawrence
Berkeley National Laboratory
Bioethics
Discussion Pages
These discussion pages are where the questions and
responses to bioethical issues are located. EVERYONE is invited to write about
what YOU think about these issues. Bioethical questions may have significance
for all of society, and therefore the general public as well as ethicists
should get involved and express what they think.
Source: Maurice
Bernstein, M.D.
Scientists for Global Responsibility
SGR is a UK group that promotes the
ethical practice and use of science and technology. They are working to develop
a new concept of the role of science and scientists in a socially responsible
society through research and education.
Source: The
International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility
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