1.2.1 Our collective ethical responsibility
It is human nature to use knowledge of the past to guide
actions in the present. This places an ethical responsibility
upon those who seek to explore the past to do all they can
to ensure that their work is not misused. This is not just a
theoretical possibility: history is rife with the misuse of
anthropological research to justify regimes that have cost the
lives and livelihoods of many innocent people. So much
damage has been caused that some have even questioned