Rio Tinto blasting a sacred Aboriginal site should make scientists ask ‘am I being a good ancestor?’ | Jared Field

Our universities fail stupendously when they don ’t teach ethical and moral responsibilityWhat does it take to blow something up? My field, mathematics, is certainly useful. Computer science, and the numerical methods it allows, is handy. Several years of chemistry and physics are essential. Geology and operations management will go a long way too. Many other topics will also be helpful but hopefully my point has been made: the best tool to blow something up is a university.And yet, as universities proudly tout their Reconciliation Action Plans (RAPs) little thought is given to their complicity in the destruction of sacred sites. We equip students with the skillsets to destroy places such as theJuukan Gorge cave, which was blasted by Rio Tinto in May, but not with the ability to reason ethically. Or indeed, it appears, even to ask the simple question: is this wrong? I can already hear my colleagues in the science faculty moaning at my suggestion of their inadequacies:  “We give students tools, what they do with it is up to them!”, “I teach chemistry; why should I care about Indigenous culture?” or even, “I’m a mathematician, why should I discuss ethics with my students?”Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Indigenous Australians Science Western Australia Rio Tinto Australia news Mining Ethics Australian universities Australian education Source Type: news