教甄◆英文科題庫下載題庫

A. 

Value judgments cannot be made in science in the way that such judgments are made in philosophy, religion, and the arts, and indeed in our daily lives. Whether or not something is good or beautiful or right in a moral sense, for example, cannot be determined by scientific methods. Such judgments, even though they may be supported by a broad consensus, are not subject to scientific testing. 

 At one time, the sciences, like the arts, were pursued for their own sake. They were pursued for pleasure and satisfaction of insatiable curiosity with which we are both cursed and blessed. In the twentieth century, however, the sciences have spawned a host of giant technological achievements—the hydrogen bomb, the polio vaccine, pesticides, indestructible plastics, nuclear energy plants, perhaps even ways to manipulate our genetic heritage—but have not given us any clues about how to use them wisely. Moreover, science, as a result of these very achievements, appears enormously powerful. It is thus little wonder that there are many people who are angry at science, as one would be angry at an omnipotent authority who apparently has the power to grant one’s wishes but who refuses to do so. 

 The reason that science cannot and does not solve the problems we want it to is inherent in its nature. Most of the problems we now confront can be solved only by value judgments. For example, science gave us nuclear power and can give us predictions as to the extent of the biological damage that might result from accidents that allowed varying levels of radioactivity to escape into the environment. Yet it cannot help us, as citizens, in weighing the risk of damage from conceivable accidents against our energy needs. It can give us data to weigh our judgments on, but it cannot make those judgments for us.