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Ethically speaking
Philosophy's Gary Comstock is striving to bring ethics into the
life science classroom
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Late last spring, Gary Comstock, professor of philosophy and religious
studies, gave a presentation in Portugal. The response he received was
not what he expected.
"For the first time in my life, someone actually yelled at me during
the question and answer session about my views," Comstock said. "He
thought I was a plant (spy) for Manstano. "People applauded him when
he was through."
While Comstock had been warned that his views on ethical arguments to
GMOs would not be received well in Europe, it was still a shock to him.
But it wasn't too long ago that Comstock held similar views with the Portuguese
heckler.
When he first started researching the ethics behind agriculture and science,
he was opposed to any type of agricultural biotechnology. In fact he wrote
several articles against such research and eventual product production.
"I got interested in the issue from both a professional and personal
basis," Comstock said. "When I first came to Iowa State in 1982,
the farm crisis was just developing and I thought ethicists should be
engaged in the issues surrounding the family farm."
Comstock's aunt and uncle operated their own family farm near Mason City,
and while he had grown up in a Chicago suburb, he had spent a lot of time
on his relatives' farm. So when the farm was facing foreclosure, he naturally
developed a personal interest in seeing the family farm survive.
Gradually Comstock changed his mind over the issue because of two important
reasons. First he believes there is no way to save the family farm that
that institution is dying.
"I was also persuaded by an argument that genetic engineering is
very similar to traditional plant breeding," he said, "and on
the positive side this technology can feed hungry children in the world's
developing countries."
His change of heart was the subject on his Portugal talk and the topic
of a new book that will be published next year.
Despite his new views on biotechnology, Comstock hasn't changed his mind
on how important ethics are for scientists. To that end he has established
the Bioethics Institute at Iowa State. While students at medical schools
are taught ethics, no such program existed in the nonmedical life science
curriculum on campus and other higher education institutions.
Since 1991, Comstock has trained Iowa State life science faculty members
and at institutions throughout the nation on how ethical issues can be
introduced into the classroom. He estimates that more than 400 professors
have been trained through the Bioethics Institute. In turn those professors
reach between 80,000 and 100,000 students a year. Last summer the first
international institute was held, ironically in Portugal. He says there
is even a large interest in developing a similar program at the high school
level.
"I've been surprised by the demand," Comstock said. "I
thought there was a small group of scientists that were interested in
ethics. We've had to turn away people in the past couple of years who
wanted to attend the institute."
A variety of ethical issues are discussed including questions about cheating
and authorship of papers, the social implications of new techniques in
food production and processing, who should decide questions about the
safety of genetically engineered foods, the welfare and rights of animals,
and the scientist's duties to the environment.
"Our goal has been to integrate a discussion of ethics into life
science classes," Comstock said, "and make the students think
about what effect their future research will have on the world."
Around LAS
August 28 to September 3, 2000
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