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Preferred term

ethical impact of genetic research  

Definition(s)

  • In assessing the ethical impact of genetic research, in which philosophical and social-scientific concerns merge, it is useful to discuss three different areas addressed in this entry: (1) the ethical impact that genetic research is already having on important bioethical concepts such as informed or valid consent, which influence the public trust necessary for the conduct of genetic research; (2) the possible impact that genetic research will have on concepts such as free will, an issue of major importance for the social sciences, which aim to explain social action issuing from the free will of human beings; and (3) transforming into practical issues what seem to be purely theoretical issues, such as whether it is better to have a society of people who are relatively equal to each other in their natural attributes or to have a hierarchical society whose members have widely different natural attributes. Issues of Information Because a volunteer cannot expect any personal benefits in volunteering for medical research, whereas a patient expects to benefit from the treatment for which she is being asked for consent, it is universally recognized that the information about the risks of being a volunteer must be fuller than the information given to patients. [Source: Encyclopedia of Philosophy and the Social Sciences; Ethical Impact of Genetic Research]

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http://data.loterre.fr/ark:/67375/N9J-R0BQDWKM-4

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