Modern Science and Moral Values

Science plays a role of considerable significance in modern society; however, because of its excessive fragmentation and specialization, it has become increasingly difficult for us to obtain an overall picture of the sciences as human culture. For fear that modern science itself should break down if the situation should remain, notable efforts have been made in various fields to synthesize all the fragmented disciplines which have lost mutual links and to contribute to getting over the crisis of modern civilization produced by the breakup of modern science.

Realizing that it is one of the vital problems in modern civilization to overcome such fragmentation of the sciences and to restore a harmonious relationship between science and morality, the International Conference on the Unity of the Sciences has been agreed to convene annually from 1972 on, under the positive sponsorship of the International Cultural Foundation.

The first conference took place at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City, November 23-26, 1972, with an attendance of a total of 20 delegates-13 from the U.S.A., two from Great Britain, and one each from France, Germ any, Sweden, Canada, Korea, and Japan- and some 20 observers, under the co-sponsorship of the Council for Unified Research and Education.

Building on the fruitful result of the first conference, whose theme was “Moral Orientation of the Modern Sciences,” the second conference will be held in Tokyo, Japan, November 18-21, 1973, on the theme of “Modern Science and Moral Values.” The external purpose of the conference is to overcome the fragmentation of the sciences and discover the unity of various science syntheses. This is paired with the restoration of a harmonious relationship between science and morality.

This conference is unique in that it joins the two aspects. In a more internal sense, it is hoped that the conference will establish the problematical consciousness that some new idea or principle is necessary to solve the problems of fragmentation and amorality; gather well-known scientists from various countries to deepen their sense of moral responsibility; and lay a foundation for rallying eminent scholars in the future.

An early registrant for the conference, John C. Eccles, was a 1963 recipient of the Nobel Prize for Medicine for his discoveries of the nature of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic action on nerve cells. Now distinguished professor of physiology and biophysics at the State University of New York at Buffalo, he is turning more to philosophical pursuits. The two conference committees will hold morning and afternoon sessions, joining together for evening discussions.

The first committee, on “Science and Philosophy,” will concern itself with the unity of science, science and value, and the nature of man.

The second committee will discuss “Science, Technology, and Society,” or, the sociocultural implications of research and development in science and technology. Its three areas of focus include: social development and science/technology, social impacts of science/technology, and the human implications of life science.