Several myths about scholarly publishing are described and examined in this article, insofar as the absence of relevant data and space permit. Is it a myth or a fact that the university presses own scholarly publishing or are essential for the continued publication of scholarship? Is it a myth or true that scholarly publishing is in trouble— and, if so, what kind of trouble? Does every well-researched and well-written manuscript have, in fact, an equal chance to be considered and published? The roles of the senior scholar broker, the college traveler and the sponsoring editor are briefly sketched, as well as the connections between publishing decisions and tenure. No conclusions are reached, since the data do not permit objective analysis. However, this article argues that a full-fledged sociology of publishing is badly needed and raises the question of whether “society gets the scholarly publications it is willing to pay for,” and what this means.
Man's increasing technological ability to control human behavior by psychosurgery and electrical stimulation of the brain has given rise to some difficult and provocative problems. What are the realistic social implications? Should legislation be passed controlling the field? Or would professional guidelines alone be sufficient? Is individual freedom threatened? Does the relief the treatment can offer over‐ride the potential social hazards? What ethical issues are posed by direct intervention in the brain?
General public awareness of these questions has been slow to emerge. In recent months, however, the publicity given to the attacks of Dr. Peter Breggin on psychosurgery, the hearings of Senator Kennedy's subcommittee on health, and other events have brought the issues to the fore. Shortly before this new round of public attention, the Research Group on Behavior Control of the Institute held a conference to discuss “physical manipulation of the brain.” The participants included the members of the behavior control research group together with a number of invited guests from the fields of neurosurgery and psychiatry.
An edited transcript of their discussion follows. Identification of the participants is listed at the end of the article.
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