Scientific research is a human activity governed by human choice. Governance is exercised at many levels, from the individual scientist deciding how to design an experiment or interpret and report data, to scientific organizations that advocate research funding, to government bureaucrats allocating resources among various projects or programs, to elected representatives establishing budgetary and programmatic priorities, and citizens lobbying to support (or oppose) a particular type of research or technology. Because the consequences of science so powerfully affect the constitution and evolution of society, appropriate governance mechanisms are a key ethical issue for democratic society.

A Republic of Science?

In an influential and powerfully argued paper titled "The Republic of Science, Its Political and Economic Theory" (1962), Michael Polanyi made the case that science was best understood as an autonomous, self-governing activity. Scientists were best positioned not only to understand how to conduct their own...