Research Ethics Flashcards
Meta-ethical positions:
- Moral absolutism
- Moral relativism
- Pyrrhonian moral scepticism
Moral absolutism =
I know that X is right and anyone who disagrees is wrong
Moral relativism =
X might seem right to me, but what is right and wrong is subjective
Pyrrhonian moral scepticism =
I believe that X is right but those who disagree may be right
Reportive definitions =
to reflect the existing meaning of a term
Stipulative definitions =
to assign new meaning to a term
Analogies =
a comparison of different things to show their similarity
Ethical theories: Consequentialism
focus on consequences
e.g. utilitarianism = consequences are measured in terms of whether they produce happiness, where we should try to create the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number
Problems of Consequentialism =
What if trying to bring about positive consequences ignores certain rules?
Should happiness be all that matters?
How can an act that produces good consequences be good if it was motivated by bad intentions?
Ethical theories: Deontology
Duty
Intentions matter
Ethical decisions are good if they are made on the basis of some rules, which are based on the recognition of particular duties
Problems of Deontology =
Always following rules of conduct can lead to negative consequences
Ethical theories: Virtue Ethics
Focus on role models, on the agent’s character, rather than on consequences or rules.
Ethical theories: The ethics of care
Ethical theory and right conduct would emerge from caring relationships - ethics come from relationship with others
Careful attention to specific situations is required.
Ethical theories: Principlism
The ‘four principles’ approach
- Autonomy: the duty to allow for autonomous choices (‘informed consent’)
- Beneficence: the obligation to promote well-being
- Non-maleficence: the duty to avoid harm
- Justice: the duty of fairness
Ontologies =
Ontologies = the philosophical study of entities/things)
How we value things is connected to our ontologies
Intrinsic value: value for oneself
Instrumental/use value: value for others
Western philosophy has for a long time been dominated by two ontologies:
Mechanistic materialism and Dualism
Both adopt the view that there are things that are utterly devoid of experiential properties.
Things that are devoid of experiential properties cannot possess intrinsic value.
Ontology: Mechanistic materialism =
The view that reality is composed of bits of stuff that act in a machine-like fashion
It accepts ‘determinism’: the view that all events are determined by causes that lack free will
Ontology: Dualism =
The view that reality is composed of two fundamentally distinct things: things with minds and things that lack minds
Ontology: Panexperientialism =
The view that everything material, however small, has an element of individual consciousness.
There are different levels of agency/subjectivity/mentality.
The non-consensual analysis of DNA is prohibited under the Human Tissue Act 2004.
However, there are exceptions to this:
Where consent is not needed as a result of incapacity
Work of coroners, the police and the courts.
Research in resource-poor settings:
Inequalities in resources (journal subscriptions, internet access, protected time for research) between researchers from high- and low-income countries
Inequalities in resources and power between researchers and research participants
Limited healthcare infrastructure, socioeconomic disadvantage, illiteracy, poor general health, or unfamiliarity with the scientific rationale behind medical research, can all represent substantial barriers to an individual’s agreement and proper consent to participate in a clinical trial
How voluntary is ‘informed consent’ in contexts where a clinical trial may be the only access to care, and the usual standard of care is no care at all?
Marketisation of access to health care (experimental labour = nothing left to sell but exposure itself) → What happens post-trial?
Three requirements in relation to consent:
The patient or participant…
has capacity
is informed adequately
gives consent voluntarily, i.e. without being coerced or without being exploited
Capacity:
legal presumption: every person has capacity from the age of 16
If in doubt: assess
The Mental Capacity Act 2005:
A person lacks capacity if they…
have an ‘impairment in the functioning of the mind
is unable:
- to understand information relevant to the decision
- to retain that information
- to use or weigh that information as part of the process of making the decision
- to communicate their decision
Research on adults who lack capacity is possible under Mental Capacity Act if:
it involves minimal risk
relates to the person’s condition
cannot be done as effectively on people who have capacity
(unpaid) carers or nominated third parties (i.e.: consultees) are consulted
the person is not entered or is withdrawn if any resistance is shown
the research project has been approved by an appropriate body, such as a Research Ethics Committee.
Might children have capacity?
Children above 16 are legally assumed to have capacity
Children below 16 may be ‘Gillick competent’
Informed consent:
Must provide adequate information that might have been used by the patient to refuse treatment
Information must be tailored to each individual
Consent must be given voluntarily:
People may be incentivised to do something by the offer of a financial incentive.
Sometimes, the law prohibits this.
There is no law that prohibits the use of financial incentives in research. However, the offer of payment may jeopardise one’s capacity to consent voluntarily.
Human tissue (Relevant Material) is defined as…
material that has come from a human body and consists of, or includes, human cells.
Summary of the Human Tissue Act 2004: listed as offences:
Removing, storing or using human tissue without appropriate consent.
Storing or using human tissue donated for a certain purpose for another purpose.
Trafficking in human tissue for transplantation purposes.
Carrying out licensable activities without holding a licence.
Having human tissue, including hair, nail, and gametes with the intention of its DNA being analysed without consent (Medical diagnosis and criminal investigations are excluded).
Many laws associated with the use of nonhuman animals now defend the value of the three R’s…
Replacement
Reduction
Refinement
Replacement =
means the substitution for conscious living higher animals of insentient material.
Reduction =
means reduction in the numbers of animals used to obtain information of a given amount and precision.
Refinement =
means any decrease in the incidence or severity of inhumane procedures applied to those animals which still have to be used (minimising pain, distress and discomfort plus optimising wellbeing)
Alternatives to nonhuman animal research include:
micro-dosing
observational studies
randomised controlled trials
use of human tissues, cells, and genes (in vitro testing)
computer testing
Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990
allows research under strict conditions
a licence must be provided by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority
embryos must not have developed beyond 14 days after conception
The ‘high status’ position for the human embryo:
the ‘high status’ position = used here to refer to the position that attributes a status to an embryo that is equal to that of an adult human being
The argument from probability produced by supporters of the ‘low status’ position:
The probability that a young embryo may not survive beyond implantation is high = Young embryos should not be granted a high status.
Problems = Higher probability ≠ more worth = Some young embryos may have a high probability
The argument from probability fails to establish that young embryos should not be granted a high status.
The argument from sentience produced by supporters of the ‘low status’ position:
Young embryos lack the capacity to feel pain = young embryos should not be granted a high status.
The argument from ensoulment produced by supporters of the ‘low status’ position:
As long as something can still divide into more than one ensouled being, it cannot possess a soul. Young embryos can still divide into more than one organism = Young embryos are not ensouled.
Problem = the view that young embryos are not ensouled is implausible on scientific grounds (as it would deny that they are living individuals)
