A scientist who is also a human being cannot rest while knowledge which might be used to reduce suffering rests on the shelf.
Interpretation
Scientists have a moral obligation to apply their knowledge for the benefit of humanity.
This quote emphasizes the ethical responsibility that scientists have towards society. Albert Sabin suggests that knowledge should not be hoarded or left unused, especially when it has the potential to alleviate suffering. It underscores the idea that scientific discoveries and advancements should be shared and utilized to help people, reflecting the humanitarian side of scientific inquiry.
In practice
In a speech at a conference about ethics in research, one might quote Sabin to highlight the necessity of applied science for societal benefit.
My own experience of over 60 years in biomedical research amply demonstrated that without the use of animals and of human beings, it would have been impossible to acquire the important knowledge needed to prevent much suffering and premature death not only among humans but also among [other] animals.
Gravity is not a version of the truth. It is the truth. Anyone who doubts it is invited to jump out a tenth-storey window.
The dimmed outlines of phenomenal things all merge into one another unless we put on the focusing-glass of theory, and screw it up sometimes to one pitch of definition and sometimes to another, so as to see down into different depths through the great millstone of the world.
All of a sudden, space isn't friendly. All of a sudden, it's a place where people can die. . . . Many more people are going to die. But we can't explore space if the requirement is that there be no casualties; we can't do anything if the requirement is that there be no casualties.
I would only once have the opportunity to let my scientific career encompass a path from the double helix to the three billion steps of the human genome.
When we seed millions of acres of land with these plants, what happens to foraging birds, to insects, to microbes, to the other animals, when they come in contact and digest plants that are producing materials ranging from plastics to vaccines to pharmaceutical products?
Science tells us more and more now that there is a strong connection between emotional well-being and health outcomes, and that you can proactively cultivate emotional well-being through relatively simple practices like sleep, social connection and meditation.
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