Paper 6: Ethics and Politics of Science, Technology and Medicine
Also Paper HPS6 in HPT3 Human, Social and Political Sciences Tripos Part IIB
You should answer three questions. All questions carry equal weighting.
You should spend no more than three hours on answering all the questions, and a
word limit is set of no more than 1,500 words per answer.
All your answers for this paper should be submitted in one DOC, DOCX or PDF
document. Each answer should be clearly headed with the question number and the
question.
Put your Blind Grade Number (BGN) at the start of the document. Do not put your
name anywhere in the document.
1. Do contrasts between validity and credibility matter in the sciences?
2. What role does tacit knowledge play in scientific experimentation?
3. Is there such a thing as a distinctively Marxist approach to science? Discuss
with reference to historical examples.
4. When and why have scientists considered themselves activists?
5. Do the benefits of algorithmic decision-making outweigh the risks?
6. “If solutions within this system are so difficult to find, then maybe we should
change the system itself” (Greta Thunberg). Discuss with reference to the
historical relationship between climate change and capitalism.
7. Are there any important ethical differences between Pronuclear Transfer (PNT)
and Maternal Spindle Transfer (MST)?
8. Are there any good reasons to refrain from modifying the human germline?
9. Who should get scarce vaccines first?
10. Does diversity guarantee objectivity?
11. “Technology is value neutral.” Do you agree?
12. Should policy-makers always defer to scientists?