Last year the Journal of Medical Ethics published an article by two philosophers claiming that the same arguments that support abortion also support abortion of newborns. The article provoked strong reactions and I too felt I had to comment on the article here on The Ethics Blog. What’s so provocative? I’m not so sure it […]
Continue readingPage 43 of 50
EU is currently discussing changes to the European privacy laws. The intention is to strengthen the protection of privacy and to give people more control over their data. The problem, which I highlighted on The Ethics Blog, is that the new proposal applies also to research. Presently there is an exception for scientific research about […]
Continue readingShould individual research participants be informed if biobank researchers incidentally discover increased genetic disease risks through analysis of their samples? At a seminar, Jennifer Viberg recently discussed a well-known recommendation for when participants should be informed about incidental findings: Managing Incidental Findings in Human Subjects Research: Analysis and Recommendations During the seminar it became increasingly […]
Continue readingFriedrich Nietzsche made this enigmatic remark about moral philosophy: “In all ‘science of morals’ so far one thing was lacking, strange as it may sound: the problem of morality itself; what was lacking was any suspicion that there was something problematic here.” What did Nietzsche mean? He seems to have been thinking of a very […]
Continue readingThe newly proposed European Data Protection Directive overprotects research participants and exposes patients to greater risks of contracting illness and dying. Thus dramatically a recent article in The Lancet Oncology can be summarized, written by Mats G. Hansson at CRB together with Gert Jan van Ommen, Ruth Chadwick and Joakim Dillner. People who provide data […]
Continue readingWe are recruiting two new PhD students: 1. PhD position in the field of Research Ethics/Bioethics. This position has two possible research focuses: (a) Regulating research misconduct – ethics and law reconsidered. (b) Ethical issues on preconception genetic testing. 2. PhD position in the field of bioethics/philosophy of mind. This position has the following possible […]
Continue readingEthnicity is a sensitive issue, so sensitive that one might want to remain silent about it. Anna Lydia Svalastog at CRB recently published an article about genetic research on the Sámi people in Sweden. She highlights ethical problems associated with the fact that the Sámi focus in these studies is not made transparent. Svalastog was […]
Continue readingDo life scientists have moral responsibility when their research can be used not only to do good (like preventing pandemics) but also to harm others (like developing biological weapons)? It could be tempting to think that researchers’ only responsibility is the advancement of scientific knowledge. The use and practical application of that knowledge is the responsibility […]
Continue readingOn Saturday, March 9, Linus Johnsson at CRB defends his dissertation: Trust in Biobank Research: Meaning and Moral Significance The dissertation is based on four studies. The first two scrutinize empirical evidence concerning public trust in biobank research. They indicate that people do trust biobank researchers, at least in Sweden. Such findings might give rise […]
Continue readingWe tend to imagine the minds of great thinkers and scientists as fountains of knowledge, intelligence and certainty. That is what their brilliant works make us believe. The products are perfect; therefore, the minds that produced them must have been perfect. Well, the opposite may also be true. Brilliant works can stem from an ability to endure […]
Continue readingTHE ETHICS BLOG
A research blog from the Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics (CRB)
We write for researchers, healthcare staff, officials, politicians, patient organisations and anyone interested in ethics.
We comment on the research ethics and bioethics debate and discuss our own research. We address issues from current debates in the research community and in the press.
MEET THE EDITOR
Pär Segerdahl is editor of the Ethics Blog and Associate Professor of Philosophy at the Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics.