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.
Is science of any value? I think a power to do something is of value. Whether the result is a good thing or a bad thing depends on how it is used, but the power is a value.
You look at science fiction and look how often it talks about being alien, being alienated about the other. Look at the number of blue people - 'Avatar,' I'm looking at you. And it is now easier to find people of color in science-fiction literature and media, but the issues of representation are still really, really troubling.
I can never look now at the Milky Way without wondering from which of those banked clouds of stars the emissaries are coming. If you will pardon so commonplace a simile, we have set off the fire alarm and have nothing to do but to wait. I do not think we will have to wait for long.
Black holes, we all know, are these regions where if an object falls in, it can't get out, but the puzzle that many struggled with over the decades is, what happens to the information that an object contains when it falls into a black hole. Is it simply lost?
There are as many species as the infinite being created diverse forms in the beginning, which, following the laws of generation, produced many others, but always similar to them: therefore there are as many species as we have different structures before us today.
If your child gets asthma, the fossil fuel industry doesn't pay. Or if there's a natural disaster, the bill is paid by the taxpayer, not the fossil fuel company.
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