Ethics
Why talk about ethics?
-Graduate students are faced with
conducting independent research, and with
decisions about that research.
-You need to have thought about your
personal standards so that you are prepared
for challenges
Ethical issues
-animal rights/welfare
-human/animal subjects in research
-biotechnology applications (cloned animals)
-research funding/conflicts of interest
-pork barrel science
-salami scienc
-fraud in science
-plagiarism
Consider animal rights
Pro
-All life has inherent value which is not less
for animals than for humans. If this were not
true, then humans that are no more mentally
or physically capable (or less so) than animals,
would be considered to be of lesser value.
-Animals experience pain which is morally
equivalent to human pain
-It is fundamentally wrong to view animals as
if we “own” them. Improved care does not
correct this.
-Human are not an elite species (speciesism).
-Doing what is best for the majority (humans)
may be unjust to the individual (animal).
Kindness is wrong if it is not fair.
-Animal rights is the same moral concept as
human rights.
Con
-A “right” is a claim from one party to
another that may be legal, moral, religious,
etc., and exists only between parties who can
make such claims. Animals lack the capacity
to make moral judgements, thus cannot have
moral “rights”.
-Mentally or phyically disabled humans have
rights because they once did, or would have,
whereas animals never did.
-Communal behavior by animals is not the
same as moral behavior by humans. Animals
cannot commit crimes because there is no
moral decision involved on their part. Many
animals kill other animals for food.
-Speciesism is correct; animals are not
capable of making moral claims. Speciesism is
not the same as racism because all humans
can claim moral rights.
-Animal research benefits animals, not just
humans. Human subjects are also used in
research (with appropriate oversight; also true
of animals).
-It is morally wrong not to do research using
animals (or humans) that would cure disease
and achieve other similar benefits because the
benefits far outweigh the
risk/discomfort/sacrifice.
Ethics
What is it?
-a branch of philosophy…that is the study of
theories and arguments…about whether an
action is morally right or wrong/good or
bad…to help decide the best (correct?) course
of action
-application of moral theories to the analysis
of practical problems of human behavior.
Ethics is not…
-religion
-laws
-regulations
-a product
…but rather is a process…
Morality
…conforming to the rules of correct conduct.
However, the “rules” can be different in
different societies, and thus some “rules” can
even be immoral when considered in a
different context or environment. For
example, segregation in the South was once
considered the norm there, but viewed as
immoral by the rest of the U.S.
Theories in ethics…
In science, a theory is used to explain factual
observations
In ethics, a theory is used to justify (explain)
whether a course of action is right or wrong
Selected fundamental theories in ethics (those
with greatest application to AnS 571-IMHO)
Utilitarian theory
-actions should result in the greatest overall
beneficial effect and the least harm, all things
considered (weighs consequences).
Rights theory
-all individuals have the right not to be
harmed…regardless of benefits to others
(emphasizes respect for individuals, regardless of
consequencies).
Ethical reasoning
Claims that actions are right or wrong have
premises (reasons) that together comprise an
argument favoring or opposing the action. An
argument is a collection of statements
(reasons/premises) that lead to a conclusion.
So…appropriate evaluation of a ethically-justified
argument necessarily consists of evaluation of
the premises for truthfulness and logics
Testing moral conclusions or moral
judgements
1. Test the premises (facts)- using science.
2. Is the conclusion logical based on the
premises?
3. Assess the principle moral theory being
applied to determine if it is correct…
…this is the hard part!
Assessing application of moral theories
Consider: Utilitarianism
Medical research should be conducted using
prisoners, mentally incapacitated or other
“useless” people at test subjects.
-Tuskegee experiment
Or, consider: Rights theory
No living being, including animals should be
subjected to the discomfort associated with
medical research
Ethical arguments are seldom final
because…
1. …of disagreement on truthfulness of facts
and understanding of terms…
2. …of disagreement on the relative
importance of different ethical theories
3. …it takes much time and effort to truly
understand, theorize, test facts and justify
conclusions. Many people simply do not want
to take the time to do this.
“The correct answer to a moral question is simply the
answer that has the weight of reason on it’s side.”
James Rachels, The Elements of Moral Philosophy. McGraw-Hill, 1993.
Ethics-Subject areas to consider
relative to AnS 571
1. Research
-decisions on conduct
-initial decision on appropriateness
-funding sources, conflicts of interest
-intellectual honesty
-key to public confidence in science
-publication
-credit/co-authorship
- “salami” science
Ethics-subject areas
2. Peer review
-bias
-for known individuals or institutions
-against competitors, gender, race, etc.
-confidentiality of information and ideas
(includes grant applications also)
-ownership of new information
Ethics-subject areas
3. Animal rights/welfare
-be prepared to defend your position on the
argument of rights vs. welfare…using the
principles of ethics theory and logic.
-be familiar with humane treatment/handling
expectations/requirements.
-maintain constructive interactive
environment with activists
Ethics-subject areas
4. Food safety and security
-safety…not whether but how?
-risk vs. benefit
-objective consideration of both
-unbiased information for consumers
-security
-not bioterrorism, but “freedom from want”.
-obligation to assure food availability
Consider the following scenarios.
What are the potential ethical issues?
1. Tuskegee experiment
-human subjects continued in disease study
after a cure was discovered
-Google “Tuskegee experiment” and read the
Wikipedia account
-resulted in 1979 Belmont Report and
subsequent regulation for protection of
human subjects in research
2. Carbon monoxide packaging of fresh meat
-0.4% CO retains fresh meat color much
longer than any other means and reduces
retail store losses, even after microbial counts
become relatively high.
3. The 4-H Grand Champion steer at the Iowa
State Fair this year was cloned from the Grand
Champion of two years ago.
4. The meat industry and many other
agricultural production systems utilize a very
large proportion of the labor force as
immigrant workers.
Workers are most often paid minimum wage
with few benefits, and frequent problems of
illegal immigrants occur.
5. Labeling of naturally cured meat products as
“Uncured” and “No nitrite or nitrate added…”.
These products are produced with natural
sources of nitrate (vegetables), contain
measureable amounts of nitrite and nitrate,
and demonstrate all the typical properties of
conventionally cured meat products.
Please read:
Poultry Science 87: 387-391 (2008) and 87:392394 (2008) for discussion.