SCIENCE AND HUMAN RIGHTS.

Abstract

A brief history is presented of how scientists have recognized, individually and through their professional societies, the tie between the protection of human rights and the progress of science. This article attempts to show that the role of the scientist as freedom fighter is not as alien as it seems. It describes the evolution of a commitment in the American science community - widely shared and growing, albeit of a lesser intensity than that of the beleaguered Soviet reformist comrades. In particular it discusses the evolution of social consciousness in the American physics community and in its professional organization, the American Physical Society.