Ethical judgments limit the methods available in the production of knowledge in both the arts and natural sciences. Discuss. Ethical concerns are ubiquitous in areas of knowledge. It is no surprise that scientists of all stripes are often the most concerned about ethical issues because they have a responsibility to safeguard the safety of test subjects and not violate the rights of human beings in their studies. These ethical concerns are common and are mostly respected. In the field of art, however, ethical concerns come from other sources. Although art (particularly the modern variant) is often associated with defiance and “liberalism,” there are still limits to what artists are willing to create, not necessarily what they can create. Inevitably, there are some thoughts that are too radical for even modern artists to deal with, and this kind of aversion may be indicative of the ethical codes to which the artist adheres. A clear example of ethical limitations in art is found in the commandment that the Islamic prophet Muhammad should not be depicted visually. In this case, it would be unethical for an artist of the Muslim faith to depict Muhammad in a work of art because it would violate the code of ethics to which he adheres. While some would say that this is not an ethical issue because it does not directly affect anyone else other than the artist, it is questionable that it has an effect on a being external to the artist because there is a religious decree against it. First Although ethical issues in the natural sciences are inevitable, they can arise in multiple ways. The most common way in which natural scientists are limited in their field of study is through their inability to freely violate their human rights. Limitations on the experience...... middle of paper ......t if the artist is considered to have a greater social responsibility due to his presence as a public figure. If the answer is “yes,” then the artist is held to standards similar to those of the natural scientist. If the answer is “no,” however, then the artist is free to live by his own code of ethics, limited only by what he is not willing to do. In summary, the link between ethical limits in the two areas is a direct effect of "social responsibility", or the intrinsic duty one has, if any, towards one's society, country, culture, zeitgeist, etc. unavoidable in the natural sciences because the relationship between scientist and society is more lively than that of the artist, who can be suspected, but not proven, of having this duty. In this way the artist remains an enigmatic cultural entity, limited only by what he is capable of creating.