Institute Will Tackle Ethical Questions Raised by Science, UC President Says

Research in the humanities at a new institute at UC Irvine will include tackling thorny problems of ethics and science such as those raised by gene-splicing and the creation of new life forms, University of California President David P. Gardner said Friday in Irvine.

Gardner delivered the keynote speech at the opening ceremony for the UC system’s new Humanities Research Institute, to be housed at the Irvine campus. The institute, authorized last month by the UC Board of Regents, provides for interdisciplinary study in ethics, philosophy, languages, literature, history and other fields collectively known as the humanities.

The Humanities Research Institute was a sought-after prize among UC campuses. UCI Chancellor Jack W. Peltason said the Irvine campus feels “very proud that we have been entrusted with this responsibility.” The institute, which will bring as many as 25 noted scholars to the campus each year, will be housed in existing buildings.

Gardner spoke to a luncheon audience of humanities professors and officials from the nine UC campuses. In his remarks, Gardner said he expects the institute to provide three major benefits: the enrichment of undergraduate study; the emergence of new thought that will foster better world understanding, and the creation of a forum to examine ethical issues posed by advances in science and medicine.

Pointing out that science and the humanities are intertwined, Gardner said that “medical advances alone have raised troubling and controversial questions.”

“Do we have the right to terminate life under certain circumstances? Or to prolong it indefinitely by artificial means?” Gardner asked.

Research and conferences conducted by the visiting scholars will enhance undergraduate education, Gardner said. Noting that some national surveys have been critical of undergraduate curricula, Gardner said that the institute “can help by giving humanists the opportunity to explore new perspectives and new avenues in their field.”

He said that the “mere sense of excitement about one’s work, of being at the cutting edge in one’s discipline, will have a salutary effect in any classroom.”

UCI will receive $800,000 a year from the UC system and will provide $300,000 of its own funds to operate the institute. UCI English professor Murray Krieger has been named director of the institute.