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Summary Ethics in Life Sciences
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HC’s Ethics in Life SciencesHC 1: Ethics as design discipline (10/01/23)
Why: motivation and goals
-Three (in)famous inventors:
Thomas Midgley jr.
Nikola Tesla
Thomas Edison
-Thomas Midgley jr. -> Invented leaded fuel and chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs)
Leaded fuel -> To keep engines from ‘knocking’ (working for General Motors).
o Immense negative impact on: (-)
Human health (especially children)
Environment
o It took more than half a century before all fuels were free of lead (again)!
CFCs -> Used as refrigerants (in refrigerators), propellants (drijfgassen) (in spray cans) and solvents
(oplosmiddelen).
o Causes depletion of the ozone layer (-), phased out under the Montreal Protocol
Ozone layer protects the earth
What was known and what are the facts?:
o The toxicity of lead was already known (for some 2000 years)
o An alternative was readily available
o So, two major reasons already why not to use leaded fuel! But Midgley did it anyway.
o Midgley "had more adverse impact on the atmosphere than any other single organism in
Earth's history“ (McNeil 2001)
What happened here?
o What values guided the decision by Midgley and General Motors to use lead to keep
combustion engines from knocking?
Local benefits and costs
Were prioritized over the long-term benefits and costs
o What values didn’t they guide?
Safety for people and planet were clearly not among General Motor's or Midgley's
core values
These private actors did not assume responsibility for the public good
They primarily took care of their own immediate interests.
o Whom did this affect, and how?
The public (all people)
-Motivational consumptions: (Why previous example has been showed)
Science, technology, and innovation can help solve problems and can be valuable in many ways –
but can also cause (new) problems
Ethics can be a facilitator or even a driver of research, technology, and innovation for good -> So,
making technology and innovation drivers for good!
This minimally requires prevention of future harm.
For this, theoretical knowledge, and practical instruments for and hands-on practice in moral
deliberation are very valuable.
-Setting: science, technology or innovation in the health and life sciences
Direct and indirect, unintended as intended influences of scientists on the moral states of others is
large!
Examples: nanotechnology, biotechnology, energy and (medical) ICT.
, Example: energy -> We know we need energy, but to gain it, we do things that have negative
effects on the climate.
o Moving away from fossil fuels, means turning to solar/wind
power.
Consequences -> Wind males are built in the North
Sea, this again has another consequence, namely
that fisherman have to change their routes and the
wind directions (stromingen) are affected at the
coast (bad for windsurfers for example).
So, when we change something, it has effects (that we also need to consider…?)
-So, when designing and thinking about inventions/interventions, we take ‘ethics’ as a discipline!
Example: hospital hygiene -> The amount of soap used for surface cleaning is monitored (how
much, how often)
o Negative aspect -> The cleaners are monitored in every movement they make (less trust?
Feeling watched?)
-So, what values do we need to consider with these kind of decisions/problems when applying ethics as a
discipline (I):
Societal needs and problems should be the starting point of science, technology and innovation.
Moral values should be placed at the heart of science, technology and innovation.
Ethics is all about translating values into actions, weighing (different stakeholders' or individual
actors') values against each other and morally justifying one's judgements and actions
-Ethics as discipline II -> Example: these cars are all built with different purposes! One needs to be fast, the
other needs to be big to transfer a whole family and another needs to be sustainable (duurzaam).
Shared features of design problems & moral problems: rarely one unique correct solution.
o Yet, one can often distinguish better from worse solutions!
o Ethics -> How do you justify your choices?
So, there are so many ways to do it in a good way and/or to do it in a bad way! (also with cloths and
lamps for example)
This course offers you theoretical and practical resources conducive to doing all this, and hence to
doing the right thing.
You will learn how to make the translation from moral values to design principles.
-We must learn to translate values and norms into an action!
What: introductory words on ethics
-Definition -> Ethics is the practical study of deciding how we ought to act.
The branch of philosophy that deals with morality and values
o Systemic reflection on morality (values, norms, beliefs)
o Providing reasons to justify our decisions.
So, ethics is part of our everyday life.
“The purpose of education is to learn how to think for yourself” – John Dewey
-Why ethics? Why have people come up with ideas about what is write and what is wrong? -> To overcome
human shortcomings.
Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679) -> Because acting in accordance with only our self-interest will lead us
into a war of all against all, and our lives will be brutish, nasty and short. Moral action implies
accepting “the state” (the “Leviathan”).
o People always fight with each other, so we must get out of this idea
o So, in a preventative way.
o Sinical? Realistic?
Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) -> Moral behaviour has nothing to do with self-interest. It is an
intrinsic desire of mankind, tied in with man’s rational nature, to act morally correct.
o Rational
, John Dewey (1859-1952) -> We cannot escape being moral, because morality evolved to be an
integrated part of human nature and conduct.
o We must evolve to a more normal/human being form.
o Practices
o Act like rational thoughts.
-How can you know when you’re being confronted with an ethical question? -> When moral problems
arise! This is when the values, rights, interests, desires of “an other” are at stake or harmed.
How do we recognize values, rights, interests and desires...?
How do we define the other? Who is a proper subject of moral concern?
Ethical reasoning is needed whenever we are confronted with a moral problem.
-Values (1/2) -> “Values are (a) concepts or beliefs, (b) about desirable end states or behaviours, (c) that
transcend specific situations, (d) guide selection or evaluation of behaviour and events, and (e) are ordered
by relative importance.” – Schwartz & Bilsky
Values refer to what is or is perceived as good!
When we find some values important, we can translate them into norms.
-What do we mean with ‘values’ (2/2)? -> Intermediate step: conceptualization and analysis:
What do you mean with value such-and-such? Why is it valuable?
How does it relate to other values?
When or where is it relevant?
So, when you mention a value, you really need to explain what you mean -> Be specific!
Example: equality -> What do we mean with “everyone is equal”?
o For the judge? Equal opportunities? Equal capacities?
-Moral spheres -> Things that can be considered or you might run up during an
ethical issue.
Morally problematic issues can be found more or less anywhere...
In different contexts, different values are more pertinent
And hence different norms guide our actions in different situations
Ethics in the personal sphere:
o Values e. g. -> loyalty
o Norm e. g. -> “One always helps one’s friend”
o Rules for your relations in your personal sphere, with family and
friends
In the business sphere:
o Value e.g. -> sustainability
o Norm e.g. -> 'One has to reduce waste and minimize energy usage'
o Value e.g. -> human dignity & autonomy
o Norm e.g. -> 'Don't use slave labour'
o Rules for business identity
o Example: producing chocolate which is almost always coupled
with slavery as making it without is very expensive (for both
companies and costumers).
But we do not react as we keep eating chocolate
and most companies keep making chocolate
involving slavery.
In the professional sphere:
o Values e.g. -> Integrity of animals, objectivity,
disinterestedness,...
o Norm e.g. -> 'One always has to prevent conflicts of
interest'
o Rules for, e.g., the scientific community
In the public sphere:
, o Values e.g. -> justice, equality
o Norm e.g. -> 'thou shalt not kill'
o Rules for a just society
The really interesting one exist where the boarders are crossed!
o Nota bene: many morally problematic issues in the professional sphere you’ll be working in
(i.e., one of the health and life sciences, or a business or policy field related to those),
involve crossing the boundaries between two or more spheres
-Morally pertinent (relevant) ‘others’ in the life sciences -> Lots of ethicists and citizens will consider more
entity to be more relevant! (so, the ‘others’ are multiple things that also need to be taken into account).
-What does ‘morally problematic issue’ mean -> A topic that needs to be considered from a good or bad
perspective!
“morally problematic” ≠ “morally rejectable”
Morally problematic issues are everywhere where the values, rights, interests, desires of “an other”
are at stake or harmed.
Taking a moral stance means -> Carefully considering and subsequently deciding whether a morally
problematic issue is morally objectionable or not.
-Ethical thinking
Ethics concerns some of the hardest and most complex choices we have to make.
Feeling engages us in a moral problem.
Critical reflection challenges feelings, enables understanding.
o So, a certain feeling we have is certainly important, but we must not make a discission only
based on this feeling (maybe it has the same outcome), but we also must involve analytical
thinking/aspects!
So, ethical thinking -> Thinking beyond one’s inclinations and prejudices.
You need (i) an open mind and (ii) critical reasoning skills.
How can we come to a discission when there are multiple thoughts and opinions?
o Localize the problem -> personal, professional, business, public sphere
o Consider everything that’s relevant
Values, rights, interests, desires – and corresponding actors;
Actions – and their (potential) consequences
Moral principles
o Ethical thinking -> Critical reasoning, balancing arguments
o Define problem apply reason formulate judgement
Three families of ethical reasoning:
o Utilitarianism / consequentialism -> To get to the judgement you have to weight benefits
and costs and you have to choose that options that has the best aspects that have an effect
on the biggest group (within humans for example).
o Deontology -> You do it because you have a duty to do it. And the thinking is based on pure
reasoning.
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