I have been trying to do exactly that in this conversation quanda, scored some points, seem to have lost others. Have a huge respect for science, see it as the 'noble art'. However, I do recognise the narrowing of focus also has the tendency to develop a myopic world view, and so often a naive isolation from wider implications. I deplore the way this characteristic can be corrupted for mercenary or political purposes, and think perhaps moral philosophy and science in history should become core units in all science degrees. Perhaps scientists might be protected from such misuse by a professional body?

Perhaps then Doc Merlyn, can I invite you to look at the work of Nick Maxwell.

http://www.nick-maxwell.demon.co.uk/

Whilst I don't contribute much, I find his readings (and current work) fascinating and well worth pursuing.

As to OLO threads, they are just opinion pieces and have a tendency to go off on various tangents quite often. So much in fact, that after a few days, you could be having robust discussions about the inflation rate in Brazil when the core article was espousing the need for childcare in the Northern Territory :)

Oh, science as a 'noble art' is a contradiction in terms, is it not?

Well, to me, the dedicated inquiry into the miracle of Life and this miraculous Life-bearing capsule we call Planet Earth is, and should be, revered as the Noble Art. We know that the truly profound discoveries have occurred not in the lab but in moments of creative revelation. To provide a moral compass as a guiding light and inspiration by including such elements in science degrees would certainly solve a lot of current problems, and make science more appealing. Similar to politicians, I think many scientists start out with genuine higher motivation, but then become degraded by the system they enter. This is because they, like all of us, need to earn money to live. So we need to look to how we support science. But above all, we need to remember that scientists are just fatally flawed human beings, like the rest of us, doing their best in a dynamic, ever changing world, and all science is speculative, facts only so until disproved by new findings. This is the creativity of the Art of science, and the profundity of its purpose is what makes it Noble.

postscript: in case anyone's still out there, on considered reflection, I've decided I was being naively obtuse, deliberately projecting my heartfelt desire for intelligence and decency onto a much more flawed system than my romanticism was prepared to accept. Yes, I admit it, there are unscrupulously self-motivated people on both sides of this argument, which is the ultimate tragedy, as they, along with the religious maniacs who have prevented effective world population control, will prevent us with dealing intelligently with the looming problems we face.