فضيلتهاي اخلاقي فراموش شده در علوم و مهندسي : نشر علم

FORGOTTEN ETHICAL VIRTUES IN SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING: SPREADING SCIENCE

ABSTRACT- Our time is an era of growth, ability and power, and unparalleled advancements in the fields of science, technology, industry, commerce, capital, economy, arms, and politics. But, sadly we also witness the loss of cultural values and the destruction of ethical virtues in our day to day lives. In this time, the research and investigation of ethics in science, engineering and technology is similar to shooting in the dark. Therefore, in this paper we have tried to highlight some of the forgotten ethical virtues for the new generation, by reviewing the former guidelines and teaching principles found in the Iranian-Islamic culture and history. With deep study of verses of the holly Quran and sayings of the Prophets and/or Imams (Hadiths). We can observe the high status that science held in ancient Iranianʹs lives. In addition, we see that early Iranian/Islamic scientists and researchers, in general, felt a strong sense of responsibility toward human societies. Many of their ethical principles could readily be adapted to modern science and engineering. One of these principles is to avoid being narrow-minded and insular but rather be magnanimous in spreading science, helping the advancement of science, and the perfection of inventions and discoveries. This is the topic being studied here. It is interesting to note that although these ethical values were common practice in our ancestorʹs ancient times, the western world has been able to put these principles in a modern framework and teach them back to us in the form of presentation of our research discoveries in international conferences, patents disclosure, and indexed journals (i.e. ISI). Islamic-Iranian ethics contain many treasures in culture and literature that can act as models for a potential Code-of-Ethics for the whole world. But to attempt to achieve this scientific, spiritual, and ethical maturity, one must dive in to this great ocean and explore its illustrious knowledge base