THE ETHICAL DILEMMA

The Ethical Dilemma of Science and Other Writings. By A. V. Hill. (Pp. 395+xiii. 52s.) New York: Rockefeller Institute Press. London: Oxford University Press. 1960. The subject of Professor Hill's memorable presidential address to the British Association in 1952 gives the title to this volume. Science being universal, his ideal-an ideal shared by all true scientists-would be a worldwide community of learning, irrespective of politics, in which " world society can see a model of international co-operation carried on not merely for idealistic reasons but because it is the obvious and necessary basis of any system that is to work." In this imperfect world the free, open, and disinterested pursuit of knowledge, divorced from political influences, seems impracticable. There are, for instance, the compromises enforced by the demands of secrecy and officialdom, when scientific researches are used for national security; and ethical considerations which perplex the scientist. There is no simple answer to the problem, but the author, out of his wisdom and experience, gives some helpful suggestions. His conclusion (p. 88) is as follows: