Quote Originally Posted by factotum View Post
Which is a shame, really--if the Institute were actually competent the fear and loathing the Commonwealth as a whole has for them would make a lot more sense.
You guys have really missed the point the game's writers are trying to make with the Institute? It is obvious. What does the Institute do? Science. What do they have not? A goal.

Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.
-Jurrasic Park

While both Fallout and Jurrasic Park are not philosophical milestones they tend to convey said morality issue with science. The entire narrative goal of the organisation is to show how misguided science can become without a purpose. Individual members try and make reasons up, others flee, some liberate the Synth, some enslave them.

The Director is the one institution (pardon the wordplay) that keeps the Institute from tearing itself apart. That much should be clear when you partake in their story and join that board meeting of the heads of research. People might not agree on the goals of the overseer but this being pretty much the only known lab where you can research freely (I feel BoS and Enclave facilities don't count) they don't have a choice.

Have real world analogies for once: The MIT is a pretty important research site for technological advancement, as is Silicone Valley for IT. Both don't invoke fear because research is not moral or amoral but the application. Using satellite technology for mobile phones is useful. But you can use telecommunication for all sorts of things. The FEV labs were shut down (as their intent was sinister) but Synths? Or the biolabs trying to create durable flora for the surface? Or if we leave the Institute for a bit, the crop research of Vault 81 after shutting down Vault-Tec's experiments?

It should be clear that all factions try to show you about a popular philosophical quality. The Minutemen show altruism, the Railroad talks about free will the Institute is about research and application while the Brotherhood is also about that.

If anything the Institute embodies everything the Brotherhood tries to correct.