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Ethical judgments limit the methods available in the production of knowledge in both the arts and the natural sciences. Discuss. Ethical concerns are ubiquitous in areas of knowledge. Unsurprisingly, scientists of all kinds are frequently the most preoccupied with ethical issues because they are responsible for guarding the safety of test subjects and not violating the rights of humans in their studies. These ethical concerns are commonplace and are mostly respected. In the area of art, however, ethical concerns arise from other sources. Though art (particularly the modern variant) is often associated with defiance and ‘liberalism,’ there are still limitations to what artists are willing to create--not necessarily what they can create. Inevitably, there are some thoughts that are too radical even for modern artists to tackle, and this kind of aversion can be indicative of the ethical codes to which the artist subscribes. A clear example of ethical limitations in art comes in the commandment that the Islamic prophet Muhammad should not be visually portrayed. In this case, it would be unethical for an artist of the Muslim faith to depict Muhammad in a work of art because it would violate the ethical code to which he adheres. While some would say that this isn’t an ethical issue because it does not directly affect anyone other than the artist, it is arguable that it does have an effect on a being outside of the artist because there is a religious decree against it. Firstly, while ethical issues in natural sciences are inevitable, they can arise in multiple ways. The most common way that natural scientists are limited in their field of study is through their inability to freely infringe upon one’s human rights. Limitations on experi... ... middle of paper ... ...t upon if the artist is believed to have a heightened social responsibility due to their presence as a public figure. If the answer is ‘yes,’ then the artist is held by standards similar to that of the natural scientist. If the answer is ‘no,’ however, then the artist is free to live by his own ethical code, limited only by what he is not willing to do. In summation, the link between ethical limitations in the two areas is a direct effect of ‘social responsibility,’ or the inherent duty that one has, if any, to his or her society, country, culture, zeitgeist, etc. This duty is inescapable in natural sciences because the relationship between scientist and society is more vivid than that of the artist, who can be suspected, but not proven, to have such a duty. In this way, the artist remains an enigmatic cultural entity, limited only by what he is capable of creating.

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