Professional ethics
Michael Gerson, a believer in global warming, casts ClimateGate as a case of diminished professional ethics, rather than grand conspiracy:
It often goes unnoticed how much we rely on the self-enforced standards of professions — journalists who bury their biases to report the news, judges who suspend their personal views to enforce the law. If we view these professionals as politically motivated, we no longer trust the information or judgments they provide.
This professional objectivity is precisely what the hacked e-mails call into question. Some of these scientists are merely activists, deeply invested in a predetermined outcome. They assume that political change is the goal; the scientific enterprise is the means — like a political ad or a campaign speech. But without trust in disinterested, scientific judgments on climate, most non-scientists will resist costly, speculative, legislative actions. When the experts become advocates, no one believes the experts or listens to the advocates.
-Sam
Related posts:
- Wrangling over ethics
- When ethics attack
- Vaccines and Autism
- An uncertain climate
- A prayer for the economy?
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