VARSHA GUDAPATI

IB11

16. Should some knowledge not be sought on ethical grounds?

Tok theme - Knowledge and the Knower

Object 1

The image I have chosen is from an online news article about the animal experimentation
done in Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education & Research (JIPMER). In 2022,
more than 150 animals were seized from the institute by the Committee for the Purpose of
Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA). The animals are currently in
rehabilitation in sanctuaries affiliated with PETA India.
The institute used these animals for research about the effects of drugs-in-testing, and human
diseases. Animal testing is useful because animals are biologically similar to humans, and
hence can suffer from the same diseases as humans like cancer, so animal testing can help
advance medical treatments and facilities. However, the methods used to pursue this type of
knowledge shouldn’t cause any harm to animals, otherwise the research would be unethical
(stated by numerous animal protection laws), and therefore shouldn’t be continued.
In this case, the animals were overbred and lived in congested cages and forced to consume
fungus-contaminated food. Moreover, they underwent experiments in which they were forced
to consume drugs, undergo mutilating procedures, and be infected with diseases. These
procedures violated the Rules for Breeding of and Experiments on Animals (Control &
Supervision) as JIPMER didn’t renew its registration license, which would allow them to
breed and experiment on animals. Moreover, PETA India discovered evidence that the
institute violated the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act. Not only did these experiments
break multiple laws, but the animals were also subjected to extreme pain, and lived in
horrible conditions. Hence, these experiments can be considered highly unethical and
shouldn’t be continued, despite the potential benefit of the knowledge gained to the human
community. Therefore, this object shows how the method in which it is sought dictates
whether it should be pursued on ethical grounds.

Object 2-

The object I have chosen is an image of a “Little Boy”, the first nuclear weapon used in
warfare. It was a type of atomic bomb created by the United States and used by US Army Air
Forces to destroy the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II. This attack led
to the deaths of 140000 people in Hiroshima, and another 74000 in Nagasaki. Moreover,
many of the survivors suffered from leukaemia, thyroid, breast, lung cancer, and other side-
effects of the radiation produced by the bombs.
The development of the atomic bomb cannot be called unethical simply because no malicious
intentions were present during this pursuit of knowledge. The scientists of United States and
Britain worked together to develop a bomb only as a safety net in the event of war.
However, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, were bombed by the United States in 1945. This was
done because the U.S. wanted to intimidate Japan into surrendering to them.
In this case, the United States used the knowledge they gained from the atomic bomb
research and used it for a malicious purpose, which was to drop Little Boy onto the cities in
order to intimidate Japan into complete submission. Today, this action would be illegal, due
to the UN adopting the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This law
states that nuclear weapons are, unlawful to develop, possess, use, or threaten to use.
Therefore, this action should be considered unethical despite there not being such laws at that
time.
 Because the atomic bomb was originally developed as a form of self-defence, there is no
ethical issues. However, what the U.S later did with the knowledge gained was highly
unethical, and even illegal in the present age. Hence, this situation shows that the pursuit of
knowledge in itself is not unethical, the ethical dilemma lies in what we do with the
knowledge gained.

Object 3-

The object I have chosen is a screenshot of an online news article about the Encrochat
hacking in 2020. In this incident, French and Dutch police implanted malware onto servers of
Encrochat, an online chatting network. Due to this network being a hub for criminal activity,
with more than 100 million messages detailing drug deals, murder plots, organized
kidnappings, and many other severe crimes. This police bust led to the arrest of hundreds of
wanted criminals and the seizure of thousands of kilograms of drugs and numerous weapons.
Many serious crimes were also prevented.
This object is a good example of how depending on the context in which it is being sought,
knowledge can be pursued despite ethical issues.
Normally, we would consider hacking to be unethical. This makes sense, given that to hack
into someone’s electronic device means to invade their privacy and gain access to their
personal information. In fact, many people are questioning whether this hacking operation
was ethical or not. Attorneys assert that the operation was defective and that the broken
data-sharing regulations should prevent the hacked messages from being used as evidence
in court. This means the accused did not have fair trials.
However, in the context of carrying out justice by arresting criminals who could bring harm
to society, this hacking operation is fully justified. Due to the operation, many dangerous
criminals were arrested and harmful goods such as drugs and weapons were seized. This
provides an overall benefit to the community, as the removal of these harmful goods would
cause a decrease in drug dependency, and overall crime rate. In fact, France’s Supreme
Court supported this sentiment by ruling that data acquired through EncroChat were
admissible as evidence.
Because the hacking was done for the benefit of the community, this object shows that
knowledge should be sought, despite ethical issues, if the context in which it is being sought
is justifiable.
Bibliography-

Burgess, Matt. “Cops Hacked Thousands of Phones. Was It Legal?” Wired,

www.wired.com/story/encrochat-phone-police-hacking-encryption-drugs/. Accessed

12 Jan. 2023.

Burton, Kristen. ““Destroyer of Worlds”: The Making of an Atomic Bomb.” The National

WWII Museum | New Orleans, 16 July 2020,

www.nationalww2museum.org/war/articles/making-the-atomic-bomb-trinity-test.

“Nuclear Weapons Are Prohibited under International Law.” WILPF, 22 Jan. 2021,

www.wilpf.org/nuclear-weapons-are-prohibited-under-international-law/

#:~:text=Today%2C%20the%20UN%20Treaty%20on.

“‌ More than 150 Animals Rescued from Jipmer’s Experimentation Facility in

Puducherry.” The Times of India, 22 July 2022,
timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/93056735.cms?
from=mdr&utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst.
Accessed 11 Feb. 2023.

Garg, Rachit. “Laws and Regulations Regarding Animal Experimentation in

India.” IPleaders, 12 Sept. 2020, blog.ipleaders.in/laws-and-regulations-regarding-animal-
experimentation-in-
india/#The_Committee_for_the_Purpose_of_Control_and_Supervision_of_Experiments_on_
Animals_CPCSEA. Accessed 11 Feb. 2023.

‌ ational Association for Biomedical Research. “The Importance of Animal Testing in

N
Biomedical Research.” Www.nabr.org, National Association for Biomedical Research, 2020,
www.nabr.org/biomedical-research/importance-biomedical-research.

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