Leonardo Sciascia and The Disappearance of Majorana

In The Disappearance of Majorana, the Italian novelist Leonardo Sciascia contends that a brilliant young physicist did not commit suicide in 1937, as is widely believed, but instead, sequestered himself into a convent rather than contribute to the development of an atomic bomb. Thus, Sciascia equates Ettore Majorana's 'refusal of science' with 'responsible science', whose scope, Sciascia suggests, must at times be restricted. By contrast, the author argues that Sciascia's Majorana is a fictional character, not the historical persona who was hardly the conscientious objector Sciascia portrays, but instead a supporter of Fascism. The author also argues, more importantly, that Sciascia's narrative, while plausible, falsifies the historical record in order to spark debate on issues in the ethics of science. However, such debate, if it were to stay within the parameters set forth by Sciascia, would fail to consider the responsibility of non-scientists to monitor how new scientific discoveries and technologies are applied by economic and political power and would absolve intellectuals from responsibility for the consequences of their choices.