Ethical science, friend or foe?
Can science make us happy, is ethical science a good thing or can it do more harm than good? 
Scientific experiments are now often fraught with rules and guidelines, but this could put the user at risk. The ethics of science can be there just to make those who are in control happy.
Ethical science should be monitored for the good of all who might benefit from the results of the study. Unfortunately since a large proportion of scientific investigations are carried out in an academic environment it can be detrimentally influenced by faculty policies.
Its true that to keep the science valid there must be policies and procedures in place to ensure best practice is followed. However the concept of ethical science can sometimes be used as a weapon to fight between competitors who want the “glory” for finding something new.
Ethics committee’s have to make sure they can justify their existence, monitoring how many projects they have approved and how many have been declined. It is important to make sure decisions are made for the right reasons, ethical science should be for the good of the community not for the satisfaction of an individual or group of individuals.
Consider the application of ethical science to the decisions people make to get married and have children. If the rules of ethics were applied to procreation, many individuals would not be allowed to reproduce. They could lose the right to future happiness for the good of society, after all the world we live in is getting over crowded isn’t it?
Would you allow a couple that are unable to look after themselves to have children they would surely love in their own way? Probably yes but an ethics committee has to consider the wider picture not just the happiness of an individual. On this basis some experiments are blocked while others are allowed just because of the human, unscientific, perspective on the control of ethical science.
Ethical science for the good of mankind, not the pain of an individual
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a comment