Bush: Science Should Serve Humanity and Not the Other Way Around

This seems an interesting speech by President Bush on the promises and perils of science. Among the President’s thoughts:

“Science offers the prospect of eventual cures for terrible diseases—and temptations to manipulate life and violate human dignity.”

“With the Internet, you can communicate instantly with someone halfway across the world—and isolate yourself from your family and your neighbors.”

“My advice: Harness the promise of technology without becoming slaves to technology. My advice is that science serves the cause of humanity and not the other way around.”

I have always thought that the rap on Bush as “anti Science” was bum, particularly since most of the issues which have caused his critics to level that charge are not really science controversies, but rather, moral and ethical arguments. (I know, I know: global warming. But whatever the merits or demerits of the criticism about his stance on Kyoto, that issue is not part of what we discuss here at Secondhand Smoke.) In any event, it looks to me as if Bush has put more thought into some of these issues than many of his critics.