Mission

The Program on Science, Technology, and Society studies the moral, political, philosophical, and social questions posed by modern science and technology.
 
As a method of accumulating factual knowledge, science has been wildly successful, even exceeding the hopes of the philosophers who launched the scientific enterprise some four centuries ago. Yet very fundamental questions -- especially relating to how science shapes our values by transforming our understanding of the world and ourselves -- remain as significant as ever. These questions are especially critical in America, the nation that most shapes scientific and technological progress and the world. What is the appropriate role of science in the formulation of public policy? What are the responsibilities of the scientist as a citizen? What role ought educators and the press play in ensuring that our democracy is not just well-informed about science and technology, but actually thoughtful about the problems it provokes? And how can we embrace the benefits of technological advancement without allowing the transforming effects of technology to erode the principles and values we cherish?

To answer these and other questions, the program hosts public lectures and conferences, and its fellows and scholars publish books and articles in leading magazines and newspapers. Also, the program joins EPPC’s Program on Biotechnology and American Democracy in publishing the widely acclaimed new journal, The New Atlantis.