Science And Ethics

A second Workshop on Ethical Considerations in Scholarship and Science was held in University College, University of Toronto, on December 14, 1992. Its purpose was to consolidate and advance the objectives of the first Workshop of November, 1991, when The Toronto Resolution ( TTR ) was formulated, and to seek ways of promulgating this document and encouraging its consideration by scientific societies and professional organizations.

The dozen or so participants decided to carry out a survey of such societies and organizations to see how their codes of ethics relate to their social and environmental context in the light of the ELEMENTS OF A CODE OF ETHICS formulated in the TTR. These “Elements” may be regarded as universal guidelines for incorportation into professional codes, which emphasize individual and institutional response to such issues as Militarism and Sustainable development,

The survey will initially examine the codes of ethics of some professional societies collected by Craig Summers of Laurentian University (unpublished). It is then intended to ask the ethics committees of the Ontario societies to consider revision and extension of their codes to conform with the elements set out in The Toronto Resolution.

The survey will be sponsored by a Working Group whose Corresponding Members are expected to be the seven colleges and university institutes that sponsored the Workshops. The Executive Members of the Working Group on Ethical Considerations in Scholarship and Science will be Chair: C.C. Gotlieb; Secretary: Eric Fawcett; Research Director: Craig Summers; Treasurer: Ken Burkhardt; Members at large: Jim Prentice and Colin Soskolne.