SCIENCE AND ETHICS 2: Society, Technology and Risk

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SCIENCE AND ETHICS 2 Society, Technology and
Risk

• deborah.oughton_at_ipm.nlh.no
• PO Box 5026

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Topics for today

• Ethical theory evaluation of cases, ethically
  relevant criteria
• Animal and Environmental Ethics
• Risk and Uncertainty
• Law and Regulation of Science

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Ethics, Science and Society

• What responsibility do scientists have for the
  possible negative consequences of their research?
• What are the relevant issues for evaluating a
  potentially harmful research project?
• What to do when the public and expert
  perception of risk diverge?
• How should we best evaluate and balance the harms
  and benefits of potentially harmful research and
  technologies?

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Case 1 Manhattan project

• Richard Rhodes The Making of the Atomic Bomb

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Chain of events

• 1933 Leo Szilard realises the possibility of a
  nuclear chain reaction
• Aug 1939 Einstein (and Szilard) write to
  Roosevelt recommending research into nuclear
  weapons
• Sept 1939 WWII begins
• 1941 Roosevelt authorises Manhattan Project
• 1942 Fermi achieves controlled fission at Chicago
• May 1945 War ends in Europe
• August 6th 1945 Hiroshima (Trumans orders)
• August 9th 1945 Nagasaki
• August 11th Japan surrendered

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Ethical Theories

• Deontological ethics
• Utilitarianism (consequentialism)
• Virtue Ethics (teleological ethics)
• Main doctrines in Western philosophy

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Virtue Ethics (Aristotle)

• Telos - the fulfilled state (or end or goal) of
  an agent or organism.
• Eudaimonia - well-being, flourishing
• Human virtues excellence of character (honesty,
  gentleness, courage, truthfulness)
• Renaissance in 1980s Greater focus
  on the community rather than the
  individual (Charles Taylor
  Alastair MacIntyre)

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Utilitarianism/Consequentialism

• The greatest happiness of the greatest number
  (Jeremy Bentham 1748-1832 John Stuart Mill
  1806-1873).
• Weighing positive and negative consequences
• Ethical significance depends on outcomes, not on
  intrinsic values of acts themselves

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Utility and Value

• Hedonistic utilitarianism pleasure and pain is
  the measure of utility
• Preference utilitarianism (Singer) preference
  satisfaction is the measure of utility
• Consequentialism (e.g. Moore) a variety of
  consequences (what is good) determine ethical
  value

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Utilitarian Arguments

• Animal research should be banned because it
  causes unnecessary suffering
• Military research will help defend our own and
  other countries civilians
• Genetic testing for hereditary illnesses can
  prevent unwanted children
• GM food can reduce famine in developing
  countries

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Problems with utilitarianism
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Deontology

• Rule based theory of ethics. e.g., Do not kill,
  lie, cheat, etc.
• Treat persons as ends in themselves, never as
  means to an end (Immanuel Kant, 1724-1804)
• Some actions are impermissible whatever the
  consequences (lying, killing, breaking promises)
• Emphasis on rights, duties and constraints

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Deontological arguments

• Genetic testing of foetus prior to implantation
  is using them as a means
• Databases of genetic information (medical,
  criminal) infringe on persons autonomy and
  liberty
• Releases of chemical waste (or any other
  pollution) exposes people to risk of harm without
  their consent

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Problems with deontology
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Intrinsic and Extrinsic Concerns

• Difference between the ends and the means of an
  act
• Intrinsic the action is wrong in itself
  act/means-based assessments (deontological
  ethics)
• Extrinsic the action is wrong because of its
  consequences ends-based assessments
  (utilitarian/consequentialist ethics)

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Fundamental disagreements on

• The relevance of agent intention when judging the
  ethical reprehensibility of acts
• The ethical relevance of omission and commission
  (doing/ allowing and killing/letting die
  distinctions)
• Judgements on agent responsibility
• The role of punishment

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Agree on ethically relevant criteria

• Factual knowledge
• Who or what is affected?
• What is the size of the harms and benefits?
• Equality and justice
• Treat like cases equally
• How are harms and benefits distributed?
• Autonomy and liberty
• Have affected persons given consent to/have
  control over any imposed risk?
• What are the alternatives?

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Case 2 Designer babies

• The Adam Nash case
• A couple bearing a genetic disease had given
  birth to a child, Molly, who need a bone marrow
  transplant
• They decided to have a new child, using IVF, and
  by genetic screening of the embryos select the
  child that would make the best donor.
• What are the arguments for and against embryo
  screening?

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Public perception of new technologies

• Too risky
• No benefit
• Not necessary
• Unnatural
• Immoral
• Playing God
• Capitalistic
• Instrumental
• Unfair

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The UK National GM Dialogue

• The GM public debate
• A review of the science behind GM issues
• A study into the overall costs and benefits
  associated with the growing of GM crops
• Farm trials

www.gmsciencedebate.uk.org www.gmpublicdebate.uk.o
rg
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The UK Field Trial

• Results of 2 year study on effects of GM crops on
  biodiversity across 200 plots
• Showed significant negative effects for GM sugar
  beet and oilseed rape whereas slightly positive
  for GM corn
• Monsanto pulled out of EU seed research day after
  publication

Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society
B, October 2003
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Public debate results Key Messages

• People are generally uneasy about GM
• The more people engage in GM issues, the harder
  their attitudes and more intense their concerns
• There is little support for early
  commercialisation
• There is widespread mistrust of government and
  multi-national companies
• There is a broad desire to know more and for
  further research to be done
• Developing countries have special interests
• The debate was welcomed and valued

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GM Maize and Heath Hazards?

• Feb/March 2004 39 people living near a field of
  GM bt maize in the Philippines started suffering
  from fevers, respiratory illnesses and skin
  reactions when the crop was producing pollen.
• Blood tests indicated that the villagers had
  developed antibodies to the maizes inbuilt
  pesticide (Terje Traavik, Norwegian Institute of
  Gene Ecology)
• theory that GM viruses recombined with natural
  viruses to create new hybrid viruses with
  unpredictable characteristics

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GM maize and famine

• In July/August 2002 a number of famine threatened
  African countries refused to accept aid in the
  form of genetically-modified maize from the USA.
  Decision taken after appeal to the precautionary
  principle, stating that the maize may cause
  health and environmental problems, as well as
  national economic repercussions. After pressure
  from the West a number of countries changed their
  position (Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swasiland,
  Zimbabwe). Boycott was retained by Zambia in
  October 2002.
• March 2004 Angola turns back 19,000 tonnes of
  unmilled GM Maize. US accused African leaders of
  disrupting food aid European environmentalists
  lauded the bans as prudent.

Role play group discussion
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Summary Typical Ethical Conflicts

• Conflicts between ends and means
• Conflicts between maximising utility and
  distribution of harms and benefits
• Disagreements as to who/what to include in the
  ethical domain
• Disagreements on how to deal with risk in
  evaluation of action
• Disagreements on outcomes and their utility

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Icelandic database

• 17th December 1998 The Icelandic Parliament
  adopted a law to allow a private company, DeCode,
  to construct an electronic database of the
  countrys health records.
• Decode granted exclusive licence medical records
  (including diagnoses and test results, treatments
  and side-effects), genetic and genealogical data
• Exclusive rights to commercial exploitation of
  the database for 12 years
• Consent is implied for all dead persons live
  persons can voluntarily opt out

www.decode.com