PROCEEDINGS OF THE LATVIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

The Scientist’s Code of Ethics in the Latvian Academy of Sciences: creation of the code, its implementation, and today’s problems

https://doi.org/10.53231/LZAV.23.2.1
Keywords: ethics, honesty (integrity), LAS, morality, moral education, scientist’s code of ethics, scientific ethics expertise
Language: In Latvian

The article surveys the creation of the Scientist’s Code of Ethics in the Latvian Academy
of Sciences (LAS) in the 1990s, supplementation of the Code in 2017, the establishment
of the Scientist’s Ethics Commission of the Latvian Academy of Sciences and the Latvian Council of Science (LAS/LCS), the work of the commission from 1997 to 2020. The most prominent cases having occurred during the commission’s work are mentioned and problems in the scientific environment are presented. The article provides an analysis of the social life in Latvia, considers solutions to moral issues, and describes the brilliance and misery of the education system reforms; however, little attention is paid to issues of education and morality.
The article also pays attention to theoretical positions in ethics, international conferences in Riga, consideration of ethical issues in scientific congresses, and self-criticism of scientists. The final part is dedicated to the inclusion of Latvian science in the European science space, requirements regarding ethical principles of projects, honesty or integrity in science. The author shares her experience as a scientific ethics expert in the European Commission, evaluating international grants, and gives recommendations on how to improve the structure of applications in the field of ethics. The article is not intended as a report on the long-term activity of the LAS/LCS Ethics Commission, but rather as a problem article covering a wider dimension, including the question: what happens to ethics in modern society and the scientific environment.