Helen Haste hears from Howard Gardner

American psychologist Howard Gardner sees an ethical crisis looming for US scientists.

First, he sees pressures from the increasing role of the market in the patenting of many scientific developments.  Second, he finds that young researchers, even in top flight institutions, are driven by the desire to make money, and they feel they can only afford to address ethics after they have made it. He recently spoke to the Scottish parliament about his current studies on ‘good work’ – what makes for responsibility and ethical awareness in the professions, and how to inculcate this quality in young people. 

Gardner is a renowned psychologist, recipient of a MacArthur ‘Genius’ award, who initially established his international reputation through his work on multiple intelligences and creativity. He holds a Chair at Harvard Graduate School of Education. The Good Work project, which he co-directs with William Damon of Stanford University, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi of Claremont Graduate University, asks what it takes to do good work in difficult times. It interviewed over 1200 top US professionals in nine fields ranging from genetics and medical science to law and journalism. A parallel project has been carried out in Denmark.

Scientists’ perceptions

Gardner says: ‘There are three ethical issues that concern scientists.  Two are uncontroversial – going about one’s work in an ethical and open way, and being a good citizen in general, participating in the community.  The third is more problematic; how far should one feel obliged to take responsibility for how one’s work is used?’  He cites a personal example. He discovered that, in Australia, his theory of multiple intelligences was being used in education to differentiate people along ethnic lines. He had to decide whether to speak out publicly.  He concluded he did have that obligation, and this made him aware of the ethical dilemmas that many scientists should, in his view, face up to. 

However, many of the geneticists in the Good Work study did not see this kind of responsibility as their role, and they also were optimistic that there were sufficient institutional checks and balances in place. ‘It is notable that in general, journalists and lawyers are very interested in the implications of our Good Work project, and so are some medical scientists, but geneticists on the whole aren’t,’ says Gardner. ‘Amongst the scientists we interviewed, some were heavily involved in social and ethical issues, but many others were rather naïve about the forces that would regulate their field and keep it on track, ethically.’

He regards it as a matter of urgency that young scientists are exposed to ethical issues as part of their training, but this shouldn’t be through ‘a module which no-one takes seriously’.  He believes that a good method – that he would like to see implemented in US colleges – is to require students to have a summer’s internship, working in someone’s lab, where ethical issues would arise naturally and could be addressed. 

National differences

There are differences between the US, and the UK and Europe, in the nature of current ethical debates.  One difference lies in the laws on patenting biological developments, which in the US are more liberal than in many European countries. This also means that many – perhaps most – top US scientists work simultaneously in the university and in the corporate world; many of the Good Work respondents did not see a conflict of interest between these worlds.

Another difference is that in Britain, there has been much public discussion about ethical issues, for example over GMOs, animal rights and BSE, none of which touched the USA to anything like the same extent.  Gardner sees this making ethical debates much more explicit in Britain, where scientists cannot ignore them so easily.

Recent pressures have brought religious forces into the US arena, around stem cell research, evolution teaching and other areas, which are not present in the UK.  Combined with increasing pressures on financial support, and increased competition, Gardner foresees many young US scientists leaving the country for more supportive environments. 

All professions

The Good Work project is about laying foundations for preparing people for all professions, not only science, but the sciences are particularly salient because ethical issues have been traditionally less explicit there than in medicine, law or journalism, for example.  As Gardner says, ‘Good work is work that is excellent, ethical and engaging – and what makes people want to do such work?  We live in turbulent times when our sense of time and space are being altered by technology and where market forces are very strong, without much to counter them.  In this context, the key question is how can we create responsibility in work?’

Helen Haste is Visiting Professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and Professor of Psychology at the University of Bath