Common Reading: ‘Ethics for Science-Savvy Citizens’ lecture

PULLMAN, Wash.—The Washington State University Common Reading Program will host William Kabasenche, assistant professor of philosophy, to present “Ethics for Scientists and Science-Savvy Citizens” on Nov. 8 at 6 p.m. in Smith CUE 203.  The event is free and open to the public.

The Common Reading Tuesdays lecture will answer the questions “How should scientists and science-savvy citizens think about the ethics of science, is it immune to ethical considerations, and would the ethics of science be done best by scientists themselves?”

Kabasenche will discuss how science, as a form of social inquiry, can’t succeed unless most participants abide by an “ethics of inquiry” that enables scientists to achieve the aims of their research.  He will talk about a variety of cases in which ethical dilemmas emerge and can’t be understood just by bolstering one’s knowledge of relevant science.
 
“We’ll look at cases where researchers have particular ethical responsibilities and cases where the broad use of science and technology will be of interest to science-savvy citizens and policy-makers,” says Kabasenche.
The talk will tie closely to his research, which focuses on ethics and biomedical technologies.