6 
to do no harm, and then subsequently to follow the goal of promoting the 
good. It is a source of wonder to me that such a powerful, although ab- 
stract, statement about the balance in goals to be pursued was formulated 
several thousands of years ago when humankind existed on the margin of 
survival. If anything, today when we are seeking to apply such precepts to 
a concrete situation — such as the conduct of recombinant DNA research — this 
teaching should be understood to have even stronger applicability. None 
of the benefits proclaimed as possible through the results of recombinant 
DNA research purport to take humankind from the margin of survival and 
provide It with basic security. Rather the good which is considered possible 
through such research would result in the improvement of an already tolerable 
situation. When I say that the current situation is tolerable, I am referring 
to the scientific and technological components of it; surely there is hunger 
in the world, and disease, and the like, but we should clearly understand 
that these are largely the results of political and economic factors, not 
scientific or technological ones. If those political, economic, and social 
factors are not directly addressed, no amount of advances in the area of 
DNA or other scientific work will, by itself, reduce world hunger or other 
ills. The extension of this ancient Hypocratic admonition to our present 
day implies that future generations have the right to require that we do 
not recklessly endanger the natural environment or the social fabric; there 
is not a similar imperative on us to present them with miracle cures. 
Because the NIH Guidelines purport to deal with issues of safety, and to 
protect the general public and the communities adjacent to research to undue 
hazards, while at the same time allowing research to proceed which may provide 
human benefits, these ethical precepts should be reflected in the provisions 
of the Guideline revisions. I do not think they adequately are. First, I 
believe we should distinguish between the concepts of "risk" and "safety." 
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