Richard Gregory...on science and ethics
The view that the sole function of science is the discovery and study of natural facts and principles without regard to the social implications of the knowledge gained, can no longer be maintained. It is being widely recognized that science cannot be divorced from ethics, or rightly absolve itself from the human responsibilities of the application of its discoveries to destructive purposes of war or economic disturbances in times of peace. Men of science can no longer stand aside from the social and political questions involved in the structure which has been built up from the materials provided by them, and which their discoveries may be used to destroy. It is their duty to assist in the establishment of a rational harmonious social order out of the welter of human conflict into which the world has been thrown through the prostitution of the rich gifts with which they have endowed the human race. Science has made the world one through the facilities of transport and communication now available, and it recognizes no political or racial boundaries in the fields of knowledge. By the wise use of this knowledge, the earth could indeed become a celestial dwelling-place instead of a world of dust and ashes which prevailing conditions seem to be making its destiny.
- Cultural Contacts of Science, 1938