Ethical and Philosophical Consideration of the Dual-use Dilemma in the Biological Sciences

The dual-use dilemma arises in the context of research in the biological and other sciences as a consequence of the fact that one and the same piece of scientific research sometimes has the potential to be used for bad as well as good purposes. It is an ethical dilemma since it is about promoting good in the context of the potential for also causing harm, e.g., the promotion of health in the context of providing the wherewithal for the killing of innocents. It is an ethical dilemma for the researcher because of the potential actions of others, e.g., malevolent non-researchers who might steal dangerous biological agents, or make use of the original researcher's work. And it is a dilemma for governments concerned with the security of their citizens, as well as their health. In this article we construct a taxonomy of types of "experiments of concern" in the biological sciences, and thereby map the terrain of ethical risk. We then provide a series of analyses of the ethical problems and considerations at issue in the dual-use dilemma, including the impermissibility of certain kinds of research and possible restrictions on dissemination of research results given the risks to health and security. Finally, we explore the main available institutional responses to some of the specific ethical problems posed by the dual-use dilemma in the biological sciences.     

Understanding the Dark Side of Costly Punishment: The Impact of Individual Differences in Everyday Sadism and Existential Threat

In public goods situations, a specific destructive behaviour reliably emerges when individuals face the possibility of costly punishing others: antisocial punishment, that is, costly punishing cooperative individuals. So far, however, little is known about the individual differences and situational factors that are associated with the dark side of costly punishment. This research deals with this shortcoming. We argue that antisocial punishment reflects the basic characteristics of sadism, namely, aggressive behaviour to dominate and to harm other individuals. We further argue that antisocial punishment may reflect a type of behaviour that allows for the maintenance of self‐esteem (through aggressively dominating others). Therefore, we expect that individuals who report a disposition for everyday sadism are particularly likely to engage in antisocial punishment when their self has been threatened (by thinking about one's own death). In a study (N = 99), we found empirical support for this assumption. The present research contributes to a better understanding of antisocial punishment and suggests that sadistic tendencies play a crucial role, especially when the self is (existentially) threatened. Copyright © 2015 European Association of Personality Psychology     

生前预嘱制度的伦理困境与化解路径

随着医疗技术在医疗领域的迅速发展,个人对医疗措施具备了更宽泛的选择权。然而,我国对生前预嘱制度的引入存在较大的伦理争议,主要表现为基于目标冲突、责任冲突和角色冲突导致的伦理困境。通过解析救死扶伤的时代理解、父权主义的时代抛弃、自然死亡的时代定位与生前预嘱的时代需求,提出我国应对救死扶伤进行重新定义、确立个人中心主义、正确对待自然死亡、推进生前预嘱制度入法的应对策略,以从根本上破解生前预嘱制度的伦理困境,促进生前预嘱制度在我国的落地实施。

     

Integrating motivational interviewing in career counseling: A case study

Motivational interviewing (MI) is receiving increasing attention in the field of career counseling. However, none of the previous studies have concretely presented how this method could and why it should be integrated in career counseling. Through the use of a single case study design, this paper illustrates how a brief MI (BMI) intervention can be integrated into career counseling interventions to help resolve career dilemmas. An analysis of the interactions between the client and his counselor using the Motivational Interviewing Skills Code 2.1 illustrates why this method can be useful for career counseling. Immediate and long-term effects of the global career counseling intervention on the client's career decision-making difficulties, as well as the specific impacts of the BMI intervention, are assessed. This case study shows that the BMI approach can be integrated in a career counseling intervention to help career counseling clients overcome career dilemmas and increase their readiness to make career choices.     

Effects of Dark Tetrad traits on utilitarian moral judgement: The role of personal involvement and familiarity with the victim

The aim of this study was to re‐examine relations between dark traits and utilitarian moral judgement in sacrificial moral dilemmas by taking into account two contextual characteristics of dilemmas: the actor’s role in sacrificing (personal or impersonal involvement in inflicting harm) and the actor’s familiarity with the victim (a known or an unknown person). Results showed that all dark traits, except for psychopathy, obtained significant main and positive effects on utilitarian moral judgement. However, psychopathy and sadism obtained interaction effects with dilemma type, indicating the importance of the specific context of moral judgement in individuals with these traits. Furthermore, among all dark traits, only sadism showed an incremental contribution to utilitarian judgement over empathy and HEXACO traits, with the highest contribution to dilemmas that include personal harm. Results highlighted the role of enjoyment of cruelty in utilitarian moral judgement.     

When to (or not to) trust intelligent machines: Insights from an evolutionary game theory analysis of trust in repeated games

The actions of intelligent agents, such as chatbots, recommender systems, and virtual assistants are typically not fully transparent to the user. Consequently, users take the risk that such agents act in ways opposed to the users’ preferences or goals. It is often argued that people use trust as a cognitive shortcut to reduce the complexity of such interactions. Here we formalise this by using the methods of evolutionary game theory to study the viability of trust-based strategies in repeated games. These are reciprocal strategies that cooperate as long as the other player is observed to be cooperating. Unlike classic reciprocal strategies, once mutual cooperation has been observed for a threshold number of rounds they stop checking their co-player’s behaviour every round, and instead only check it with some probability. By doing so, they reduce the opportunity cost of verifying whether the action of their co-player was actually cooperative. We demonstrate that these trust-based strategies can outcompete strategies that are always conditional, such as Tit-for-Tat, when the opportunity cost is non-negligible. We argue that this cost is likely to be greater when the interaction is between people and intelligent agents, because of the reduced transparency of the agent. Consequently, we expect people to use trust-based strategies more frequently in interactions with intelligent agents. Our results provide new, important insights into the design of mechanisms for facilitating interactions between humans and intelligent agents, where trust is an essential factor.     

道德困境研究的范式沿革及其理论价值

通过评述道德困境研究范式的发展过程, 系统阐释了经典两难法、加工分离法、CNI模型法和CAN算法的优缺点和理论价值。后来的研究范式均在一定程度上克服了之前研究范式的局限。加工分离法克服了经典两难法的加工纯粹性假设等局限, CNI模型法在加工分离法基础上进一步分离了道德困境决策的多种心理过程, CAN算法则修正了CNI模型法的序列加工的不恰当预设。研究范式的沿革启示研究者综合应用新方法来解决研究争议和重新审视以往道德理论, 合理应用新方法来探索其他具有潜在冲突性的研究议题。总之, 本文为道德困境及相关研究提供了方法学参考。     

共享经济背景下顾客公民行为和不当行为：基于社会困境理论的视角

共享经济(个体供方对个体顾客的共享模式如小猪短租平台)中顾客公民行为的促进和不当行为的治理, 成为保证共享经济可持续发展的重要议题。然而, 现有顾客行为相关研究更多是在传统经济背景下进行的探讨, 而涉及到共享经济背景下的研究难以体现共享经济的特色, 导致其未能很好地解决实践困境。上述顾客行为是在个人和集体利益发生冲突时的抉择, 即社会困境。社会困境理论可以帮助企业全面认识顾客公民行为和不当行为并有效解决困境问题。本研究拟基于社会困境理论, 探讨以下三个方面的问题: (1) 深入剖析共享经济中顾客公民行为和不当行为的概念、维度及其测量; (2) 揭示平台、供方和政府通过规则制定或社会影响策略来有效优化顾客行为的路径; (3) 阐明顾客公民和不当行为的差异性影响机制, 以及顾客社会价值导向和供方监督对顾客行为的调节作用。本研究有助于拓展现有顾客公民和不当行为的研究, 为平台、供方和政府管理提供重要参考。     

Mind-reading in strategic interaction: The impact of perceived similarity on projection and stereotyping

In social dilemmas, negotiations, and other forms of strategic interaction, mind-reading—intuiting another party’s preferences and intentions—has an important impact on an actor’s own behavior. In this paper, we present a model of how perceivers shift between social projection (using one’s own mental states to intuit a counterpart’s mental states) and stereotyping (using general assumptions about a group to intuit a counterpart’s mental states). Study 1 extends prior work on perceptual dilemmas in arms races, examining Americans’ perceptions of Chinese attitudes toward military escalation. Study 2 adapts a prisoner’s dilemma, pairing participants with outgroup targets. Study 3 employs an ultimatum game, asking male and female participants to make judgments about opposite sex partners. Study 4 manipulates perceived similarity as well as counterpart stereotype in a principal–agent context. Across the studies, we find evidence for our central prediction: higher levels of perceived similarity are associated with increased projection and reduced stereotyping.