Prof. Margit Sutrop Director of the Centre for Ethics, University of T artu, Estonia HEAL TH-NCP-NET 1st Training, Brussels, 21.10.2008
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Prof. Margit Sutrop
Director of the Centre for Ethics, University of Tartu, Estonia
HEALTH-NCP-NET 1st Training, Brussels, 21.10.2008
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` Morality and ethics
` Reasons of the boom in ethics
` Ethics as an integral part of research` Plurality of morals and unity of ethics: In search of
universal principles
` Changes in ethical frameworks: new challenges to
ethics
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` Morality is the embodiment of norms and valueswhich have been collectively acknowledged asbinding. Morality refers to historically emergedpractices of people and cultures.
` Ethics refers to the whole domain of morality andto the theoretical reflection on moral values, normsand principles.
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Theoretical ethics
` Normative ethics(justification of norms)
` Metaethics (languageof morals, nature of value judgements)
Practical ethics
` Applied ethics
( moral issues of different fields of life)
` Professional ethics
(values, obligationscodified in professional
practices)
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` Medical ethics
` Bioethics
` Environmental ethics` Public ethics
` Media ethics
` Business ethics
` Ethics of sports
` Research ethics
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` A search for shared values
` Institutionalization of ethics (first centre in 1969
Hastings Centre on Hudson)
` More courses of ethics in university curricula` Creation of special journals for ethics
` Ethical review system established
` Codes of ethics for different professions
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` Institutionalization of ethics: neither of the previous
booms produced centres for ethics
` Ethics is treated as a subject where
controversies are normal (courses of ethics areproblem-oriented)
` Philosophers not ministries leading the
discussions
` Training in ethics for all professions required
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` Research ethics: a kind of professional ethics
which sets and justifies the ethical standards of
conduct in research
` Bioethics: a kind of applied ethics which dealswith ethical issues in biomedical research
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Standards of ethical conduct in science: honesty,
carefulness, openness, freedom, credit, social
responsibility, mutual respect,respect for subjects.
` Ethical standards of conduct in research play akey role in advancing the goals of science; in
promoting cooperation, collaboration, and trust
among researchers; and in attaining the public¶s
trust and support.` European Science Foundation¶s ³Good scientific
practice in research and scholarship´, 2000
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` Advances in science and technology create new
ethical issues of research. From the question
³what we can do?´ to the question ³what we
should/may do´?` Max Weber : the natural sciences can give us
answers to questions about what we should do if
we want to rule the world technologi-cally. But to
answer the question whether we must or shouldrule the world technologically, we must step
outside science.
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` concept of human dignity
` the concept of personhood: when does human life
begin?
`
the moral status of the human embryo (abortion, stemcell research)
` the right of the individual versus the right of the
community
` respect for the human life versus beneficence (duty to
alleviate the suffering)
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The Belmont Report (1979)
` Beauchamp and Childress ³Principles of
Biomedical Ethics´ (1979)
The Oviedo Convention on Human Rights &Biomedicine (1997)
UNESCO Universal Declaration on Bioethics and
Human Rights (2005)
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` The globalisation of medical resarch: the need to
capture universal values and formulate universal
principles (global bioethics)
` The emerging reality of the diversity of moralcultures: the need to respect plurality and ethical
diversity (Asian, American, European bioethics)
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Tom Beauchamp andJames Childress (1979)
autonomy beneficence,
non-maleficence
justice
Peter Kemp, a.o
Barcelona Declaration
(2000)
autonomy
dignity
integrity
vulnerability
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` The disagreement is often not the result of theuptake of different values but of differentinterpretation or prioritization of values.
` Moral values depend on our self-understanding,conception of good life, which depend onhistorical and economic situation, culturaltradition, and religious convictions.
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Is there a need for changing ethical frameworks?
` From individual liberal ethics towards
communitarian approach
` individual rights versus the common good?
` Individual interests versus public interest?
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Report ³Personal data for public good: using health
information in medical research´:
` Overemphasis on privacy and autonomy, including an
insistence on the need for explicit consent even though this
may be impractical or undesirable for other reasons.` The Academy invoked the ³public interest´ argument,
suggesting that inhibiting the use of medical records for
research is unethical because lives which could otherwise
have been saved by epidemiological research were being
lost.
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` Instrumental reasons:
- epidemiological research is more difficult since without
a subject¶s informed consent it is impossible to gather
statistical data
- restrictions requiring new informed consent on the re-
use of biological samples and data severely limit
research;
` Substantial reasons: genetic information is by
nature shared among others thus raising doubts about
the traditional applicability of concepts like ownership
and privacy .
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` No need to see individual-interest based and
collective-interest based ethical frameworks in
opposition. This is not an either/or issue. An
appropriate balance between the individual andpublic interests should be maintained.
` Values we care about are plural and contextual.
` There is no one overriding value, yet values are
objective and not relative.` Ranking of values only reasonable in particular
settings.
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