The oblique perspective: philosophical diagnostics of contemporary life sciences research
AbstractThis paper indicates how continental philosophy may contribute to a diagnostics of contemporary life sciences research, as part of a “diagnostics of the present” (envisioned by continental thinkers, from Hegel up to Foucault). First, I describe (as a “practicing” philosopher) various options for an oblique (or symptomatic) reading of emerging scientific discourse, bent on uncovering the basic “philosophemes” of scienc e (i.e. the guiding ideas, the basic conceptions of nature, life and technology at work in contemporary life sciences research practices). Subsequently, I outline a number of radical trans...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - March 3, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Product, not process! Explaining a basic concept in agricultural biotechnologies and food safety
AbstractMost life scientists have relentlessly recommended any evaluative approach of agri-food products to be based on examination of the phenotype, i.e. the actual characteristics of the food, feed and fiber varieties: the effects of any new cultivar (or micro-organism, animal) on our health are not dependent on the process(es), the techniques used to obtain it.The so-called “genetically modified organisms” (“GMOs”), on the other hand, are commonly framed as a group with special properties – most frequently seen as dubious, or even harmful.Some social scientists still believe that considering the process is a c...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - March 2, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
A paedophile scan to prevent child sexual abuse in child care? A thought experiment to problematize the notion of alignment in Responsible Research and Innovation
AbstractResponsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is a science policy concept that gained traction from 2000 onwards in the EU and US, in which alignment on purposes and values between different stakeholders is a key aspect. This thought experiment problematizes this particular notion: ethically acceptable and societally desirable outcomes are not necessarily achieved when alignment is a consequence of early closure. To argue this point, we took the example of the potential development of scanning technology for the detection of paedophilia among job applicants, for which indicators of broad societal support were found in ...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - February 27, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Sharpening the cutting edge: additional considerations for the UK debates on embryonic interventions for mitochondrial diseases
AbstractIn October 2015 the UK enacted legislation to permit the clinical use of two cutting edge germline-altering, IVF-based embryonic techniques: pronuclear transfer and maternal spindle transfer (PNT and MST). The aim is to use these techniques to prevent the maternal transmission of serious mitochondrial diseases. Major claims have been made about the quality of the debates that preceded this legislation and the significance of those debates for UK decision-making on other biotechnologies, as well as for other countries considering similar legislation. In this article we conduct a systematic analysis of those UK debat...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - January 12, 2017 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Evaluating determinants of rural Villagers ’ engagement in conservation and waste management behaviors based on integrated conceptual framework of Pro-environmental behavior
This study aims to evaluate determinants of villagers ’ engagement in pro-environmental behavior (PEB), including ecological conservation behavior (ECB) and waste management behavior (WMB). An integrated exploratory model representing the proposed relationship between villagers’ engagement in ECB/WMB and their determinants was created based on the integration of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the Stern’s value belief norm (VBN) theory, environmental education and psychosocial characteristic perspectives. The potential predictors included a community norm, environmental knowledge, sense of obligation and self-e...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - December 4, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
‘Mr Cummings clearly does not understand the science of genetics and should maybe go back to school on the subject’: an exploratory content analysis of the online comments beneath a controversial news story
AbstractAn article published in the UK Guardian on 11/10/2013 with the headline ‘Genetics outweighs teaching, Gove advisor tells his boss’ reported a leaked document written by special advisor Dominic Cummings to the then UK Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove. The article generated 3008 on-line reader comments from the public. These reader comments offer a natur alistic opportunity to understand public opinion regarding Cummings’ controversial suggestions and ideas. We conducted a content analysis ofn = 800 reader comments, coding them on the basis of level of agreement with the ideas and opinions exp...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - November 2, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Mars ain ’t the kind of place to raise your kid: ethical implications of pregnancy on missions to colonize other planets
AbstractThe colonization of a new planet will inevitably bring about new bioethical issues. One is the possibility of pregnancy during the mission. During the journey to the target planet or moon, and for the first couple of years before a colony has been established and the colony has been accommodated for children, a pregnancy would jeopardize the safety of the crew and the wellbeing of the child. The principal concern with a pregnancy during an interplanetary mission is that it could put the entire crew in danger. Resources such as air, food, and medical supplies will be limited and calculated to keep the crew members a...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - August 24, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Integrated assessment of emerging science and technologies as creating learning processes among assessment communities
< h3 class= " a-plus-plus " > Abstract < /h3 > < p class= " a-plus-plus " > Emerging science and technologies are often characterised by complexity, uncertainty and controversy. Regulation and governance of such scientific and technological developments needs to build on knowledge and evidence that reflect this complicated situation. This insight is sometimes formulated as a call for integrated assessment of emerging science and technologies, and such a call is analysed in this article. The article addresses two overall questions. The first is: to what extent are emerging science and technologies currently assessed in an i...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - July 27, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Continental philosophical perspectives on life sciences and emerging technologies
(Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy)
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - June 12, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
DIY-Bio – economic, epistemological and ethical implications and ambivalences
Abstract
Since 2008, we witness the emergence of the Do-It-Yourself Biology movement, a global movement spreading the use of biotechnology beyond traditional academic and industrial institutions and into the lay public. Practitioners include a broad mix of amateurs, enthusiasts, students, and trained scientists. At this moment, the movement counts nearly 50 local groups, mostly in America and Europe, but also increasingly in Asia. Do-It-Yourself Bio represents a direct translation of hacking culture and practicesfrom the realm of computers and software into the realm of genes and cells. Although the mov...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - May 29, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Turning the tide or surfing the wave? Responsible Research and Innovation, fundamental rights and neoliberal virtues
This article tries to address this aspect and suggests some preliminary considerations on the connections between the specific understanding of responsibility in RRI and the framing of responsibility in what has been synthetically defined as ‘neoliberalism’. To do so, we try to illustrate how the idea of responsibility has evolved over time so that the specific characteristics of RRI can be better highlighted. These characteristics will then be discussed against the features of neoliberalism and its understanding of responsibility. Eventually, we reaffirm a view of RRI centred on fundamental rights as a possible point ...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - May 26, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Towards a phronetic space for responsible research (and innovation)
Abstract
The term Responsible Research and Innovation has recently gained currency, as it has been designated to be a key-term in the European research framework Horizon 2020. At the level of European research policy, Responsible Research and Innovation can be viewed as an attempt to reach a broader vision of research and innovation as a public good. The current academic debate may be fairly enriched by considering the role that phronesis may have for RRI. Specifically, in this paper we argue that the current debate might be fruitfully enriched by making a categorial shift. Such a categorial shift invol...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - May 19, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
A strategic stakeholder approach for addressing further analysis requests in whole genome sequencing research
Abstract
Whole genome sequencing (WGS) can be a cost-effective and efficient means of diagnosis for some children, but it also raises a number of ethical concerns. One such concern is how researchers derive and communicate results from WGS, including future requests for further analysis of stored sequences. The purpose of this paper is to think about what is at stake, and for whom, in any solution that is developed to deal with such requests. To accomplish this task, this paper will utilize stakeholder theory, a common method used in business ethics. Several scenarios that connect stakeholder concerns a...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - April 17, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
The moral concerns of biobank donors: the effect of non-welfare interests on willingness to donate
Abstract
Donors to biobanks are typically asked to give blanket consent, allowing their donation to be used in any research authorized by the biobank. This type of consent ignores the evidence that some donors have moral, religious, or cultural concerns about the future uses of their donations – concerns we call “non-welfare interests”. The nature of non-welfare interests and their effect on willingness to donate to a biobank is not well understood.
In order to better undersand the influence of non-welfare interests, we surveyed a national sample of the US population (in June 2...
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - March 11, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
Erratum to: Islet Xeno/transplantation and the risk of contagion: local responses from Canada and Australia to an emerging global technoscience
(Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy)
Source: Life Sciences, Society and Policy - February 17, 2016 Category: Medical Ethics Source Type: research
