Parliament of Worlds Religion 1999 Capetown SA

Author(s): Parliament of the World’s Religions
Publisher: USA Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Page 40

A CALL TO OUR GUIDING INSTITUTIONS
Call to
The CENCE AND MEDICINE
A We envision a world in which
...we wisely explore the mysteries of life;
our various systems of knowing enhance one another; ..access to knowledge and to the healing arts is not a privilege but a right;
our methods of seeking the truths of existence and well-being draw us together (rather than separate us); ...humanity is enhanced by technology, in a manner consistent with our responsibility to the rest of the Earth community.
B To enlarge our understanding of the physical world and of ourselves is among the noblest functions of science and medicine. From these material and human realities we draw many of our metaphors, operating principles, and therapeutic practices. Science and medicine provide essential tools in our efforts to nurture the life and growth of individuals and communities.
As disciplines engaged in observation, experiment, analysis, and discovery, science and medicine also have a social dimension. Researchers and teachers, physicians and engineers, physicists, chemists, and biologists should be committed to benefiting human life and reducing suffering. In fact, civilization has found ways to make most scientific and medical discoveries and technologies beneficial and productive. Some of these, however, have been employed in dangerous, destructive, life-threatening ways. Therefore, we must always consider the consequences of scientific research, medical programs, and technological development in the context of the well-being of the human community and of the Earth's systems of life.
1999
PARLIAMENT OF THE
WORLD'S
RELICIONS
DECEMBER
99
Humans must always be the subjects of rights, must be ends, never mere means, never objects of commercialization and industrialization in economics. politics and media, in research institutes, and industrial corporations.
...A human person is infinitely precious and must be unconditionally protected. But likewise the lives of animals and plants that inhabit this planet with us deserve protection. preservation, and care. Limitless exploitation of the natural foundations of life, ruthless destruction of the biosphere, and militarization of the cosmos are all outrages. As human beings we have a special responsibilityespecially with a view to future generations for Earth and the cosmos, for the air, water, and soil.
... A universal consensus on many disputed ethical questions (from bio- and sexual ethics through mass media and scientific ethics to economic and political ethics) will be difficult to attain. Nevertheless, even for many controversial questions. suitable solutions should be attainable in the spirit of the fundamental principles we have jointly developed here.
Towards a Global Ethic: An Initial Declaration
1993 Parliament of the World's Religions Chicago
37