ABSTRACT
The essence of scientific responsibility is the inner drive, the inner necessity to get to the bottom of things: to be discontented until one has done so; to express one's reservations fully and honestly; and to be prepared to admit error. There are two major kinds of scientific responsibility. There is the pattern of responsible behavior that is associated with basic research and the communication of the results. And there are the problems that arise when scientists deal with issues involving social responsibility—such matters as the control of nuclear and other weapons or the criteria for deciding whether to dam a river or let it flow freely. However the two areas also have much in common, and the problems of social responsibility cannot be considered properly without keeping in mind the general code of scientific behaviour. The traditional patterns of scientific reporting and communication—the scientific ethos, in Merton's phrase—may be in danger of undergoing significant erosion.
