Introduction: Legislative, Administrative, and Judicial Nonscience

This symposium deals with the legal issues, or rather some of them, that are created by scientific research. Anyone remotely interested in scientific developments should be aware that even the existence of "new" scientific "facts," let alone the application of such discoveries to everyday activities, gives rise to a host of human value judgments that should be faced and resolved by society. Although these problems are often left in purgatory forever, it is the legal system, broadly defined, that attempts to resolve the conflict of interests (or the balancing of values) when a decision is made. Making this type of "balancing of values" judgments is the overriding-or perhaps even sole-function of the legal system.

This is true whether we act through administrative regulations, legislative enactments, or judicial decisions.