Transcript University of Utah Conflict of Interest Policy

Social Responsibility in Science
Phil 7570, Spring 2007
Carol Werner
(w/ Bryan Benham)
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Thanks to the Faculty!
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Leslie Francis (Phil & Law)
Kathi Mooney (Nursing)
Caren Frost (Soc Work)
Kim Korinek (Sociology)
Rachel Hayes-Harb (Linguistics)
Frank Whitby (Biochem)
Tom Richmond (Chemistry)
Carol Werner (Psychology)
And additional presenters:
• Thad Hall (Poli-Sci)
• Dennis O’Rourke (Anthropology)
Facts vs. values?
• Science is not (strictly speaking) value-free or
value-neutral
– Although its aims are objective, repeatable,
empirically based knowledge
• Science is a human enterprise…so it is valueinfused
– Consider how one pursues or promotes own
research, how it is communicated, how decisions
about funding and peer review are made, etc.
– Consider history (e.g., Nazi Scientists)
– Consider definition of “good science”
– Consider how science is controversial
RCR
ethics
Society/
politics
Scientists’
Values,
Personality,
Social milieu
$$
Federal/
Science:
SocialFoundations/
Commercial Basic,applied,apploid Env.
good
Published-Not P
Knowledge/
Training
Some Major Sources of influence on science
RCR
ethics
Society/
politics
Scientists’
Values,
Personality,
Social milieu
$$
Federal/
Science:
SocialFoundations/
Commercial Basic,applied,apploid Env.
good
Published-Not P
Knowledge/
Training
Some Major Sources of influence on science
• Values
Scientists’ values, personality
and social milieu
– What research is important
– Personal research ethics
• Personal Qualities
– Need for achievement, competitiveness
– Training and knowledge
– Obedience to authority
• Social milieu
– Pressure for grants, publications, fame
– Ethical atmosphere in lab
– Conformity and obedience pressure
Society & Politics
• Political Influences and social activists
bring pressure on
– funding
– topics
– publishability
Arthur Caplan
Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania
“But the greatest threat to the control and
dissemination of research is this marriage
with the military and anti-terrorist activities.
The scientific community hasn’t given five
minutes of thought to how to preserve their
rights to publish and pick the topics they
want. And there’s no hesitancy on the part of
DARPA to say “You can’t publish” or “You
can’t do this, this is ours. We own it.”
Controversial Science
• Scientific research that is, or is perceived to
be, at odds with social values or goals:
• Topics that breach sensitive issues
• Cloning/Stem-cell, GM agriculture, Sex Research, etc.
– Topics that are ideologically loaded
• IQ Research, AIDS and sexuality research, Global
Warming, Evolution in Schools, etc.
– Topics that are “beyond the pale of society”
• Torture Techniques, Head-Transplant Surgery, etc.
Deciding what is right
• Actually, the question of which type of
science to fund is quite simple:
Since all science is problem driven, it
should be judged by the quality of the
problems posed and the quality of the
solutions provided. Oped Brenner, 1998, p. 1411-1412
Is this helpful?
How to decide?
Arthur Caplan
Director of the Center for Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania
“You can’t get very far [in scientific research]
without values appearing, even in some
strictly molecular activities. I would also say
that you scare the public if you continue to
assert that you don’t think about the ethical
aspects of what you are doing. The fear of the
‘mad’ scientist isn’t that he or she is mad, it’s
that he or she is indifferent to the ethics of
what they are doing.”
Angry Mob Effect
• Public Overreaction
– Offense to Moral
Sensibilities
– Demonizing Science
• Fear
– Threat to well-being
– Challenge to deeply
held beliefs
• Lack of
Understanding?
Mad Scientist Effect
• Rejects Social Responsibility
– Value-Free Inquiry?
– Consequences not
considered
– Paternalism: science knows
best
• Isolated from Society
– Poorly Educates Public
– (PR Failure?)
– Insensitive to Social Values
• We’re asked to speak up, but
• Does this undermine scientific integrity?
Adler et al.on abortion
• Professional organization with expertise
on topic
• Took initiative
• Balancing Scientific integrity?
Resisting Pressures to
violate your ethical core
• Responsible Conduct of Research
(RCR) Training/strong ethical core
• Social independence training
RCR Training &
Goals of Phil 7570
• The focus of the course is not merely the
legal or explicit regulations, but identifying
and employing the underlying ethical
principles and values that guide
responsible research, so that one can
(ideally) navigate the rocky shoals and murky
waters of daily research practice.
Course Objectives:
Your ethical “core”
1. Increase ethical sensitivity to issues
regarding RCR
2. Aid in developing moral reasoning skills via
case studies
3. Acquaint with relevant policies, procedures,
and professional standards of ethical
research
Balancing Three
Questions
1. What rules or principles apply? (P)
2. What are the consequences? (C)
C
P
I
3. Whose interests are involved? (I)
Do research scientists have
special responsibilities to
society?
If so, why?
And what are they?
Whence the special
responsibility to society?
• Scientific knowledge has a lasting impact on society.
• The people who produce knowledge should be responsible for
its consequences and uses.
• Scientific knowledge is meant to benefit society.
• Much research is relevant to formulating public policy.
• Scientific knowledge should be freely/openly available to
members of society (not for private/elite use only).
• Scientific research supported by public resources.
• Scientists have special knowledge and expertise not available to
everyone
• Science is a profession, with codes of ethics that often include
social obligations.
• Scientists are members of society (citizen-scientists).
Responsibility to/for…
• Future implications or applications of
discovery?
• Shaping and deciding social and public
policy?
• National and/or global interests?
– defense, economy, human welfare, environment,
etc.
Future implications or
applications of discovery?
• Consider
– Genetic testing and counseling, eugenics
and sex typing
Shaping and deciding
social and public policy?
• Consider
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Climate science (global warming)
Stem cells and cloning
Health policy
Neurosciences and behavioral genetics in legal
and social practices
• Science and Politics?
National and/or global
interests?
• Human Welfare?
– AIDS, malaria, etc.
– Food, energy, etc.
• Environmental Values
– Sustainability
– Beyond sustainability
• Economic?
– Biotech industry
– Commercial innovation via discovery
• Defense?
– WW II efforts (Manhattan project) vs. post-WWII
efforts (e.g., Hydrogen bomb); cold-war?
– War on Terror and Biodefense?
Although there is room for
disagreement…
In each case, the weight of these
considerations favor the idea that
scientists do indeed have special
responsibilities to society
But, most importantly…
because scientific research is
embedded in a larger social and ethical
context, and this is an essential
component of scientific research:
Science is not removed from society
Resisting Pressure
• Social independence training
– Choose affiliations carefully
– Draw on your peers for support
• Avoid pluralistic ignorance
• Avoid group think (impaired decision making)
– Draw on legal support
Many routes to creativity
Imagination is more important than
knowledge. For knowledge is limited,
whereas imagination embraces the entire
world, stimulating progress, giving birth to
evolution.
– Albert Einstein (1879 - 1955)
Imagination
Scientific Imagination
Concerned with advancing knowledge & technology
Moral Imagination
Concerned with understanding the implications of
knowledge and technology
Most of what we did in this course was
aimed at demonstrating that both
scientific and moral imagination are
important and unavoidable features of
science
Responsibility and
Imagination
• Understanding values
• Understanding implications of research
• Understanding the direction of science
– Individually and collectively
– Where it should or shouldn’t go
– How it gets there
Responsibility and
Imagination
• Understand that research is done within a larger
social and ethical context
• Realize a sense of personal responsibility for one's
own research and one's place in society as a
researcher
• Can’t avoid the question of social responsibility…it is
intrinsic to science
Imagine…
If not you… who?
With great power,
comes great responsibility.
– Uncle Ben to Peter Parker
in Spider-Man
Sources
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Weigmann, Katrin. (2001). In the name of science. EMBO reports 2,
871-875.
Breithaupt, Holger, & Hadley, Caroline. (2005). Interview with Arthur
Caplan, building stairs into slippery slopes. EMBO reports 6, 8-12.