Ultimate question of scientific ethics!

OK- I always thought this was an ultimate moral question for science:


Say that you happen to find a box. Inside the box is undeniable proof that god does not exist. The question: What do you do with the box?


Should the truth be exposed no matter what the consequences, or should we hide the truth if the masses might get hurt based upon our discoveries? I can certainly imaging scores of people going into serious depression and comitting suicide because they felt the only reason for living is god. Would exposing the truth be worth the pain it brings?

 

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wow....in place of the word God in that little hypothetic vignette we could insert the word: Cancer. let's think about the implications using that word, too, shall we. oh..sorry, i'm being facetious...(it's a carry-over from another thread's discussion) ...i will get back on track and answer this accordingly in a few minutes. good thread, btw..

 

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Well that wouldn't be any good. What a silly idea.

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But we could insert: "cure for cancer"

 

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This is an impossible scenario, as one cannot prove a negative.
Try it sometime.
Can't be done. No way, no how.

Having said that, IF it were possible, I would not hesitate for one nanosecond to reveal the contents to the world. I don't see the moral delima. The only negative you have postulated is that people might kill themselves. I don't see how that follows. Besides, religion has been the cause of millions upon millions of deaths over the centuries. Why would it's demise necessarily usher in a worse situation.

 

Faith is one of those more powerful entities of the human species that does not even succumb to proof.

 

This wouldn't be the end of religion, only christianity. Unless of course he was implying that the contents of the box was proof that all gods did not exist. However, I do agree that the contents must be shared immediately.

This is very true, and I was about to say the same thing. I'm afraid that some people may not be persuaded into forsaking religion even ifundeniable proof is provided.

 

Well, the gloating would never end, but other than that... why not?

 

god is tiny if it fits in a box...

 

spurious, you are a very funny person.

 

so what's a poor scientist to do if he discovers god? will there be a massive cover up? will god be passed off as a weather ballon? will nations compete to be the first to open a dialogue with god and gain most favored nation status?

so many ?'s

 

What is actually in the box then??

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She didnt say god was actually in the box spurious monkey just that the proof was

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JAMES R,

Brilliant Question.I was about to ask the same thing?...But found later on that it would lose its relevance since Majority of people i presume are <i>not</i>Atheists...Correct me if am wrong at this Statistics...

bye!

 

I believe that the ratios are different for each country. In the US, I think it's pretty close to 50-50. However in China or India, I would think that the percentage atheists would be quite small.

 

Idle:

The numbers I've usually seen are that ~95% of people in the US believe in some sort of God (i.e., are NOT atheists). Not sure if you live here, but this is a supprisingly religious country.

I'd suspect the number of atheists on message boards like this to be considerably higher than the national avg.

 

John:

I realise that the numbers on a message board that centers around science will have a higher ratio than that of society. I thought I saw the 50-50 statistic somewhere, but I think it may have been Christian to non-Christian. That is likely where I got mixed up.

I live in Canada, BTW.

 

i will try and track this down and i will not mind if people disagree with what i am about to say
although i read about a group of eleven scientist went out to the middleeast or somthing and together set out disprove jesus' existance although when returned changed there faith to catholic!
i am not trying to say catholics are the one and only right religion but what i am saying is it is hard to say that jesus did not exsist.
when i find the web page i will post it

 

the only solid evidence for the existence of god would be god itself...

but i am sure god has the power to make itself fit in a box, even a tiny one.

 

The question is not if Jesus exists, it is if he is the so-called messiah (sp?). I very much doubt that Jesus ever expected a religion to be built around his ideas. Most of the "witness testimonies" and texts about Jesus were writen hundreds of years after they were supposed to happen. This is not to say they are wrong, only that there is as much doubt about this story as any other that is passed down through culture. Fairies, goblins, dragons, god, unicorns...all the same as far as I can tell.

 

Cog

Suppose that you could prove anything. How would go about doing it?