Abstract
WHILE not agreeing with all the statements made by Prof. J. A. Ryle in his plea for a more ethical approach to matters scientific (beginning on p. 619), we feel that a suggestion that men of science should get together and devise some form of charter to guide their future activities is timely. Charters for men of science have been put forward for their consideration on previous occasions; but there is one condition which seems to us to be imperative. That is, the charter must receive the support of, and be honoured by, men of science in all countries; this does not seem likely of achievement if we have with us men of science who are working under any kind of political regime where they are subject to political control and even orders. Absolute scientific freedom in every country is essential if any form of charter is to have the desired effect. Readers of Nature will recall a suggested "Ethical Declaration for the Times" for men of science by Mr. L. L. Whyte published during the disturbed times of 1938 (Nature, 141, 827; 1938). That declaration read as follows:
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Science and Ethics. Nature 156, 623 (1945). https://doi.org/10.1038/156623b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/156623b0