Ethics for Life Scientists

Hardcover  219 pp  ISBN 1402031785      £76.00

Softcover  219 pp  ISBN 1402031793      £40.00

Life sciences have huge controversial social implications. In doing experiments with animals, plants or humans the welfare of these living beings can be hampered; in communicating research results private and public interests can be harmed (patents!) or at least severely influenced; in being a member of a research

group issues of human rights (such as discriminatory behaviour) can become prominent; individual and collective forms of responsibility because of controversial types of research can become urgent.

Funding organizations can confront scientists and engineers with new ethical issues; the public at large or, as is the case with sustainability, future generations can challenge existing ways of doing research, and educating and teaching can confront scientists with new ethical issues.

In this book, resulting from an expert workshop at Wageningen University and Research Centre, European and American experts discuss such topics and theories as the relationship between ethics, professional ethics and business ethics, the public responsibility of researchers and communicating, organizing, teaching and discussing ethical issues.

Written for teachers, graduates and undergraduates in bioethics, theroretical biology and agricultural ethics

Contents

Preface
Introduction
1. Ethical challenges for the life sciences; Michiel Korthals

Researchers in organizations
2a. Moral complexity in organization; Ronald Jeurissen
2b. Comments on Jeurissen: Organization and moral complexity; Hugo Letiche
3a. The social role of businesses and the role of the professional; Johan Wempe
3b. Comments on Wempe: Conditions for ethical business; Henk Zandvoort

Responsible authorship and communication
4a. The responsible conduct of research, including responsible authorship and publication practices; Ruth Ellen Bulger
4b. Comments on Bulger: The responsible conduct of research, including responsible authorship and publication practices; Henk van den Belt
5a. Professional ethics and scholarly communication; Hub Zwart
5b. Comments on Zwart: Professional ethics and scholarly communication; Tjard de Cock Buning
6a. Some recent challenges to openness and freedom in scientific publication; David B. Resnik
6b. Comments on Resnik: Some recent challenges to openness and freedom in scientific publication; Tiny van Boekel

Ethics of animal research
7a. Research ethics for animal biotechnology; Paul B. Thompson
7b. Comments on Thompson: Research ethics for animal biotechnology; Mieke Boon

Ethics for life scientists as a challenge for ethics
8a. How common morality relates to business and the professions; Bernard Gert
8b. Comments on Gert: Gert's common morality: old-fashioned or untimely? Jozef Keulartz 9a. Research as a challenge for ethical reflection; Marcus Düwell
9b. Comments on Düwell: Research as a challenge for ethical reflection; Akke van der Zijpp

Scientists in society
10a. New public responsibilities for life scientists; Michiel Korthals
10b. Comments on Korthals: New public responsibilities for life scientists; Jan H. Koeman
11. Science, context and professional ethics; Ruth Chadwick
12a. Bioscientists as ethical decision-makers; Matti Häyry
12b. Comments on Häyry: Assessing bioscientific work from a moral point of view; Robert Heeger

New developments
13. The human genome: common resource but not common heritage; David B. Resnik

Conclusions
14. Towards ethically sound life sciences; Michiel Korthals
List of participants