Can Scientists Use Information Derived from the Concentration Camps?

Abstract

The style used for writing an essay—the format for conveying thoughts—is never as important as the thoughts themselves. Still, at the very outset, I am confronted with a style dilemma: Should I try to analyze the Nazi data issue using a subjective “first person” format—full of “I” and “my”—or should I, instead, revert to the classic “third person” style with its editorial “we” and more somber phraseology? The first lends itself better to emotional descriptions of human tragedy and passionate debate about its consequences. But editors of scientific journals and philosophical treatises seem to prefer the more formal approach, which dampens passion. Third person styles project images of reasoned objectivity and academic authority. They can be used to describe suffering without breaking into tears. They might be able to deal with the Holocaust without going mad.