EthicalElementsofChemical/BiologicalDefenseResearchSHIRLEYA。LIEBMANGeo-Centers,Inc。FortWashington,Maryland20744INTRODUCTIONMission-orientedresearchinindustrialandgovernmentlaboratoriesrequires1)individualacknowledgmentofcorporateorresearchdirectorategoalsand2)thepersonalcommitmenttoachievethem。
Asaresearchcontractoratafederallaboratory,Iviewtheserequirementstomeanthereisfullawarenessandunderstandingofthedesignandconductofthecontractedresearchprogramtomeetthesegoals。
Itisevidenttomethatdangerspersistbothinourdomesticandinternationalscenesthatcallfordefenseresearchatanecessaryandsufficientlevel。1-5Todefinewhatisnecessaryandsufficientresearch,onemustresorttosubjectiveandoftencontroversialevaluations。
Theseevaluationsaredifficult,evenforthemostexperiencedpractitionersinthefield。Whencontractorsworkwithinformed,knowledgeablegovernmentresearchmanagers,effortsaredirectedtothedefinedneedswithinthecompetitivecontractingprocess。
Intheconductofgovernment-fundedresearch,therearemanyparallelswithresearchconductedintheindustrialscene。Sensitive,proprietaryresearchisimportanttomanycompetitiveindustries,aswellastomilitaryrelatedwork。
Investigatorsareoftenrequiredtomaintainconfidentialitywhereitisdeemedappropriatebytheorganization。Thelevelofrequiredsecurityisbestdeterminedbythetechnical,legal,andseniormanagementstaff,whichbearsresponsibilityforthecorporateornationalwell-being。
Perhapsthispointisleastconvincingtosomeacademicswhentheyweighnationalsecurityconcernsagainstwhattheyperceiveastheirscientificrights。
Inmyview,itisthedirectresponsibilityofanemployeeorfundedresearchertoaccept,negotiate,orrejectthecontractedlimitsofresearchproposals。
Thisisonepotentialconflictofindividualversuscorporate/militaryrightsthatmostpointedlybringsoutthepersonalattitudesandprofessionalethicsoftheresearcher。
ETHICALPERSPECTIVESThreeconsiderationssupportmypersonalcommitmenttotheconductofthecontracte ,whereinsupportofourgovernmenttoprovideforthecommondefenserepresentsafundamentalandmoralresponsibilityofallcitizens。
2。TheEthicalConcerns,whereinpersonalbeliefsinreligiousandmoralstandardsareacknowledgedasbeingconsistentwithourrightstolife,liberty,andthepursuitofhappiness。
3。APersonalAttitude,whereincontributionsaremadewithaparticularmind-settoprotectthesecollectiveandindividualrights。TheConstitutionalBasisThreatstothehealthandsafetyofourdomesticandinternationalcommunitiescontinuetomakeusawareoftheneedtocounterviolent,destructive,andterroristelements。
Defense-orientedeffortsarerequiredtoidentifythoseresponsiblefortheseelementsandt。