Conflict of interest in biomedical research: a view from Europe

In this paper I address the conflict of interest (CoI) issue from a legal point of view at a European level. We will see that the regulatory framework that exists in Europe does state the need for the independence of ethics committee involved in authorisation of research and clinical trials. We will see that CoI is an element that has to be closely monitored at National and International level. Therefore, Member States and Newly Associated States do have to address CoI in the authorisation process of research and clinical protocols of biomedicine. The opinions here expressed are personal and do not commit the European Commission. An earlier version of this paper was delivered at a Conference on Conflict of Interest and Its Significance in Science and Medicine, 5–6 April, 2002, Warsaw, Poland. The author is a Scientific Officer in the Programme Science and Society dealing with ethics and science (Unit C.3).     

论邓小平的政治伦理思想

本文从伦理学的视角出发 ,通过已公开发表的邓小平著述 ,分析论证了邓小平政治伦理思想的基本内容 :即邓小平的政治价值目标、邓小平反复强调的三大基本道德范畴———责任、信义、合作 ,并指出了邓小平政治伦理思想在我国现阶段政治生活实践中的重要理论指导意义和实践意义。     

Ethics education in science and engineering: The case of animal research

Conclusion The past one hundred fifty years of debate over the use of animals in research and testing has been characterized mainly byad hominem attacks and on uncritical rejection of the other sides’ arguments. In the classroom, it is important to avoid repeating exercises in public relations and to demand sound scholarship. This paper is a modification of material originally included in the handbook which accompanied the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Seminar “Teaching Ethics in Science and Engineering”, 10–11 February 1993.     

A Code of Ethics for Health Care Ethics Consultants: Journey to the Present and Implications for the Field

For decades a debate has played out in the literature about who bioethicists are, what they do, whether they can be considered professionals qua bioethicists, and, if so, what professional responsibilities they are called to uphold. Health care ethics consultants are bioethicists who work in health care settings. They have been seeking guidance documents that speak to their special relationships/duties toward those they serve. By approving a Code of Ethics and Professional Responsibilities for Health Care Ethics Consultants, the American Society for Bioethics and Humanities (ASBH) has moved the professionalization debate forward in a significant way. This first code of ethics focuses on individuals who provide health care ethics consultation (HCEC) in clinical settings. The evolution of the code's development, implications for the field of HCEC and bioethics, and considerations for future directions are presented here.     

Ethics Consultation Quality Assessment Tool: A Novel Method for Assessing the Quality of Ethics Case Consultations Based on Written Records

Although ethics consultation is offered as a clinical service in most hospitals in the United States, few valid and practical tools are available to evaluate, ensure, and improve ethics consultation quality. The quality of ethics consultation is important because poor quality ethics consultation can result in ethically inappropriate outcomes for patients, other stakeholders, or the health care system. To promote accountability for the quality of ethics consultation, we developed the Ethics Consultation Quality Assessment Tool (ECQAT). ECQAT enables raters to assess the quality of ethics consultations based on the written record. Through rigorous development and preliminary testing, we identified key elements of a quality ethics consultation (ethics question, consultation-specific information, ethical analysis, and conclusions and/or recommendations), established scoring criteria, developed training guidelines, and designed a holistic assessment process. This article describes the development of the ECQAT, the resulting product, and recommended future testing and potential uses for the tool.     

努力提高多中心临床研究的伦理审查质量

多中心临床合作研究是现代生物医学发展的必然要求,各方利益冲突,双重标准,缺乏独立性,人员素质不高,跟踪监督欠缺等导致的伦理审查质量参差不齐已成为一个重要的制约因素,建议采取切实的多方面的措施,保证科学性和伦理合理性,明确职责,协调发展,努力提高多中心临床研究的伦理审查质量。     

战争伦理:一种世界观念

战争伦理主要论及战争如何受到道德强制,或者说,它涉及道德的进步如何影响到战争。同时,与人类其他活动相比,战争行为更具国际性,因此,战争伦理作为抑制战争的一种道义力量,也更易成为一种世界观念。可以将战争伦理分为军事伦理、军备伦理、军人伦理三个层面,分别代表基于人、武器以及人与武器相结合而采取的行动———作战之上的伦理规范,它们都是随着时代的发展而发展的。     

Ethics of aggression research: Papers from a symposium of International Society for Research on Aggression

Three papers are presented from the first symposium on ethical issues in aggression research of the International Society for Research on Aggression held at the biennial meetings 1980 in Haren, The Netherlands. The symposium reflected a growing awareness of the Society that their research is a matter for public concern and scrutiny, both for its potentially good uses, and for its potential misuse and misinterpretation. A paper by Santiago Genovés, a Mexican anthropologist, outlined some of the issues concerning the dissemination of information and misinformation of aggression to the public, along with an extensive bibliography on the subject. A paper by Paul Brain, a British zoologist, addressed the issues surrounding the use of animals in aggression research and the arguments being used in public attacks upon it. Daniel Wikler, a practitioner of normative ethics from the United States, discussed ethics as theory and as practice and suggested some of the types of actions that the Society could consider undertaking.     

A Meta-Analysis of Ethics Instruction Effectiveness in the Sciences

Scholars have proposed a number of courses and programs intended to improve the ethical behavior of scientists in an attempt to maintain the integrity of the scientific enterprise. In the present study, we conducted a quantitative meta-analysis based on 26 previous ethics program evaluation efforts, and the results showed that the overall effectiveness of ethics instruction was modest. The effects of ethics instruction, however, were related to a number of instructional program factors, such as course content and delivery methods, in addition to factors of the evaluation study itself, such as the field of investigator and criterion measure utilized. An examination of the characteristics contributing to the relative effectiveness of instructional programs revealed that more successful programs were conducted as seminars separate from the standard curricula rather than being embedded in existing courses. Furthermore, more successful programs were case based and interactive, and they allowed participants to learn and practice the application of real-world ethical decision-making skills. The implications of these findings for future course development and evaluation are discussed.     

心灵的挑战：医生责任伦理问题与诉求

道德赤字、人性亏损是当代医学最大的危机,单纯法律、伦理、制度已难以管控医生的真实医疗行为,现代医学正面临前所未有的道德冲击和人性挑战。作为一种新道德思维,医学责任伦理具有新的精神气质和新的伦理追求,它超越传统的道德思维局限性,以他者的思维方式重新审视医学责任,开辟了一条解决现代医学面临的道德难题的新路径。责任伦理要求医生不仅要具备精湛的医术,更要具有善良的人格,要践行一种自愿的、主动的、不求回报的伦理责任,让医学技术为社会可持续、为人类健康和子孙后代造福。     

Neglected Ends: Clinical Ethics Consultation and the Prospects for Closure

Clinical ethics consultations (CECs) are sometimes deemed complete at the moment when the consultants make a recommendation. In CECs that involve actual ethical conflict, this view of a consult's endpoint runs the risk of overemphasizing the conflict's resolution at the expense of the consult's process, which can have deleterious effects on the various parties in the conflict. This overly narrow focus on reaching a decision or recommendation in consults that involve profound moral disagreement can result in two types of adverse, lingering sequelae: moral distress or negative moral emotions. The problem, succinctly named, is that such consults have insufficient “closure” for patients, families, and providers. To promote closure, and avoid the ills of moral distress and the moral emotions, I argue that CECs need to prioritize assisted conversation between the different stakeholders in these conflicts, what is often referred to as “bioethics mediation.”     

走向深层发展伦理学——贝克风险社会理论的发展伦理学意蕴

对发展伦理学而言,贝克“风险社会理论”的根本方法论意义,在于启发我们思考这样一个问题:“应该用什么方法、在什么层面上建构发展伦理学”?贝克风险社会理论对明确发展伦理学的研究视域、学理层次、研究平台等具有重要方法论启示。     

On the Legacy of Christian Ethics in Comparative Religious Ethics

This essay is an exploratory inquiry into possible Christian ethical residues in the field of comparative religious ethics (CRE), focusing particularly on the themes of tradition and canon, trajectories of ethical reflection, emancipatory criticism, common morality, and the notion of discipline. It is suggested that even if such traces exist, they may not be detrimental to the field as currently practiced.     

Implementing climate equity: the case of Europe

For over two decades, international environmental equity – the fair and just sharing of the burdens associated with environmental changes – has been the subject of much debate by philosophers, activists and diplomats concerned about climate change. It has been manifested in many international environmental agreements, notably the Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. The question arises as to whether it is being put into practice in this context. Are the requirements of international environmental equity merely words and principles in international instruments, or are they having a practical effect on the policies of state governments? This article aims to start answering these questions. It examines whether the European Union (EU) and its member states are sharing the burdens of climate change. The article introduces equity in the context of the climate change agreements and looks at some normative and practical considerations. It suggests that Europe has been a leader on international equity in the climate change negotiations over the last decade, and it points to what European states and the EU have done to take on some of the burdens of climate change. Europe's actions are briefly assessed from practical and normative perspectives. Europe is doing more than any other part of the world to address climate change and to share the burdens associated with it. Nevertheless, Europe is not doing as much to address this problem as it can and should do. Both practical and normative imperatives demand more urgent action by Europe to implement climate equity.     

Game Birds: The Ethics of Shooting Birds for Sport

This paper aims to provide an ethical assessment of the shooting of animals for sport. In particular, it discusses the use of partridges and pheasants for shooting. While opposition to hunting and shooting large wild mammals is strong, game birds have often taken a back seat in everyday animal welfare concerns. However, the practice of raising game birds for sport poses significant ethical issues. Most birds shot are raised in factory-farming conditions, and there is a considerable amount of evidence to show that these birds endure extensive suffering on these farms. Considering the fact that birds do have interests, including interests in life and not suffering, what are the ethical implications of using them for blood sports? Indeed, in the light of the suffering that game birds endure in factory farms, it may be that shooting such birds for sport is more morally problematic than other types of hunting and shooting which many people are often fiercely opposed to, for while it seems plausible to say that some animals may be harmed more by death than others (due to, say, their greater capacities), there may be harms that are worse than death (such as a life of intolerable suffering). The objective of this paper is to assess the ethics of shooting animals for sport, and in particular the practice of raising game birds for use in blood sports, by applying principles commonly used in ethics; specifically the principle of non-maleficence and equal consideration of (like) interests.     

从黄禹锡事件看伦理学对科学的重要性

克隆干细胞研究是一个与生命伦理密切相关的领域。当被誉为“克隆大王”、“韩国最高科学家”的黄禹锡因“卵子风波”的伦理问题不得不向公众道歉,并辞去世界干细胞研究中心的主任职务时,从科学家、政府官员到普通大众,支持黄禹锡,认为伦理学阻遏了干细胞研究的人不在少数。直到黄禹锡学术造假事件被揭露,人们才意识到问题的严重性,“黄禹锡神话”才因此破灭。科学不允许作假,科学也不允许作恶。黄禹锡事件给我们最大的启示是:伦理学对科学发展来说是重要的,科学研究不仅要遵循求真的学术道德,而且要遵循求善的人本道德,求善才能更好地求真!     

“学界热”与“行业冷”：医学伦理学落地医疗实践之思

医学伦理学是医学人文教育的基础阵地,中国过去40年医学伦理学科建设有成绩也有不足。当前医学伦理学落地医疗实践成为问题的焦点。从伦理学界的热点问题出发,描述热中有冷、冷热交加的伦理现象：应用伦理热、科研伦理热、医学伦理热,分析现象背后的原因可能是伦理观念与意识不足,理论与实践脱节及实践深度与广度不够。以此为基点寻生根之径,知的层面要自上而下多层保障;行的层面要理论联系实践,要深化内化转化;最终达到知行合一,入脑入心入行,加速医学伦理学落地生根。

     

Xunzi: A Paradigm of Rationalistic Virtue Ethics in Early Confucianism

Against the background of modern academic study, this article consciously uses Aristotle’s virtue ethics as a tool to theoretically analyze Xunzi’s ethical philosophy. This article tries to briefly analyze the basic structure of Xunzi’s moral philosophy and to reveal its unique rationalist theoretical character by exploring the following three topics: “the understanding of human beings,” “the establishment of a moral foundation,” and “the accomplishment of virtue in practice.” From the perspective of comparative philosophy, this article can also be viewed as a model for bringing about communication and synthesis between two philosophical traditions, namely Confucian ethics and Western virtue ethics.     

《全球旅游伦理规范》的脆弱基础和错误主张

《全球旅游伦理规范》是世界旅游组织为促进负责任的和可持续的旅游发展,给21世纪的旅游者和旅游利益相关者制定的一个参考框架,但近年来的实践证明,《规范》没有得到应有的支持和响应,其中有多方面的原因。就《规范》本身而言,存在着两大问题:其一,旅游权利论不能为《规范》提供坚实的伦理基础;其二,支持市场经济的错误主张阻碍《规范》的执行。