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Electronic Journal of Biotechnology, Vol. 1, No. 2, August, 1998 Editorial Camilo Daza Programme Coordinator The United Nations University Biotechnology Programme for Latin America and the Caribbean August, 1998 Code Number: ej98007 Since World War II, Science and Development were forcefully and unmistakably granted as reason of state to national security. We have to remember that Archimedes was the one who designed mirrors to use the power of sun against the enemy vessels, and in the modern days the atomic energy was used to end a war. Both actions caused great suffering to men, but also helped greatly to the development of society. Sir Francis Bacon, 1561 – 1626, considered the first philosopher of modern science, in his major work "A Treatise on the Advancement of Learning" written in 1605 declared that the ages before him had failed to make any visible progress in science due to the lack of method. Later, in Novum Organum, published in 1621, he presented the norms for an ideal society. Human reactions respond to idiosyncrasy, to the interactions with other members of society and to current dogmas. Human understanding is not an engine. Knowing the human condition, Bacon grouped the constraints on human knowledge under four categories: The Idols of the Tribe, the Idols of the Den, The Idols of the Market, and The Idols of the Theatre. Men always believe more readily that which they prefer. The Idol of the Tribe arise from the uniformity of the constitution of men´s spirit, or its prejudices, or his limited faculties or restless agitation, or the interference of passions, or the incompetence of the sense, or the mode of their impression. The Idol of the Den derives their origin from the peculiar nature of each individual´s mind and body, and also from education, habits, and accidents. The Idol of the Market is the product of the intercourse of men and its society, and are those that have entwined themselves around the understanding, for men imagine that their reason govern words. The Idols that go into men´s mind from the various dogmas that create fictitious or theatrical worlds are part of the Idols of the Theatre. These idols are not innate, or introduced secretly into the understanding, they are installed into the memory by the fictions of theories and depraved rules of demonstration. Leaving the philosophical concept aside, with a pragmatic approach we can think that manhood, by opening his mind to new concepts, modifying his spirit, and finding a calm environment to live in, has defeated the Idol of the Tribe. Continuously changing his habits and with a desire for better education, men seem to have conquered the Idol of the Den. Fighting the Idol of the market has been one of the most difficult issues for men. From the beginning of mankind, the instruments of society have always controlled the behaviour of men. As a consequence of the change of habits and education, and as a product of the Idol of the Market, men have reinforced the constraints of the Idol of the Theatre. Several are the anecdotes about colonial adventurers, or scientific-minded explorers who sometimes scared off or impressed the natives in Asia, America or Africa with new forms of black magic based on discoveries of modern science. In our days, we can trace back science as a reason of state in President John F. Kennedy speech in 1962. Then he declared that America´s major national goal was to defeat the Russians in their race to the moon, which proves that, contrary to the popular stereotypes, modern science or scientists have not been used by blood-thirsty politicians. The state and its various arms can kill, maim or exploit in the name of science. Recently during the III Latin American Meeting on Plant Biotechnology, held in June 98 in Havana, Cuba, we heard in a Conference lectured by a very well known scientist from Europe, that in his opinion the scientific community from the less developed countries should engage their work in field evaluations of the new concepts established in the developed world or in the applications of the science he was presenting us. The problem is that the developing world is not prepared to deal with what this famous scientist was saying. There are not enough scientists in the developing world prepared to understand the need for field evaluation of new scientific concepts or even to try to independently apply those techniques offered. Latin America is facing an economical crisis mainly as a consequence of its lack of scientific development to handle the exploitation of its own natural resources. Nowadays we see how in the name of a new concept, like the free market, our citizens are supplanting without any reasoning, the state protectionism that have governed our countries for the last decades. Many human beings are now suffering while a small proportion of the population is taking advantage of the situation without considering the social violence this behaviour can engender. Globalization, another way to express the basic concept of the free market, is challenging the new generations of scientists from developing countries to struggle for a better life with the tools coming from the developed world. Unfortunately, in time, they will discover how their dependency on that developed science has increased and how their national pride, another old concept, vanishes from day to day. Considering Biotechnology as one of the new "devices" used by those that control the market, let us consider a simple example. Tissue culture can increase the productivity of farms but, at the same time, the ignorance about the needs of the new technique will affect those farmers whose plantations will need a great technical support to overcome the problems. Instead of looking for prepared scientists in their own countries, farmers may end up selling their properties, as the cost of technical assistance will be established in the developed world. Latin America, and for those purposes all the developing world, have to devote great efforts in the preparation of the new generation of scientists that will cope with the needs of research and to successfully confront the number of short and long term problems. Supporting human resource improvement is the policy that will enable sustainable development, and should also be supported by the developed world. Otherwise the Idol of The Market and the Theater will take over and the scientific "exodus" will become a problem for the developed world as they will have to receive the best, the good and even the not so good scientists produced in this part of the world. Supported by UNESCO / MIRCEN network © 1998 by Universidad Católica de Valparaíso -- Chile |
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