the duality inherent in scientific discoveries and its effects in society

kobogarden 25th September 2024 at 6:22pm

I wonder about contrasting examples of the two.

In fact, however, the vision of new possibilities requires only the recognition that scientific discoveries can be used in at least two opposite ways. The first leads to specialization of functions, institutionalization of values and centralization of power and turns people into the accessories of bureaucracies or machines. The second enlarges the range of each person’s competence, control, and initiative, limited only by other individuals’ claims to an equal range of power and freedom.