The purpose of the Pugwash Conferences is to bring together, from
around the world, influential scholars and public figure concerned
with reducing the danger of armed conflict and seeking cooperative
solutions for global problems. Meeting in private as individuals,
rather than as representatives of governments or institutions,
Pugwash participants exchange views and explore alternative approaches
to arms control and tension reduction with combination of candour,
continuity and flexibility seldom attained in official East-West
and North-South discussions and negotiations. Yet, because of
the stature of many of the Pugwash participants in their own countries
(as, for example, science and arms-control advisers to governments,
key figures in academies of science and universities, and former
and future holders of high government office), insight from Pugwash
discussions tend to penetrate quickly to the appropriate levels
of official policy-making.
The Pugwash Movement is a clear demonstration of the fundamental change
that has taken place since World War II in the relations between scientists and society.
The traditional "ivory tower" attitude of scientists, that often resulted in a sense of
indifference to the social and political impact of their work, is being replaced by an increasing
awareness of their moral duty to help to reduce and, when possible, to eliminate the actual and
potential harmful effects of the scientific and technological explosion that have become the
hallmark of our time.
An ever growing number of scientists now realize that they have a share in the responsibility of
governments to utilize knowledge for constructive purposes, so that beyond the interest of individual
groups and countries, the achievements of science and technology will benefit mankind as a whole
and not contribute to its detriment.