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In fairness to future generations : ethical decision making in human experimentation

Kempers, Ceciel (2014) In fairness to future generations : ethical decision making in human experimentation.

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Abstract:New biomedical technologies have the capacity to improve human wellbeing. The current pursuit of eliminating and curing invasive diseases that cause suffering are an important driving force of current biomedical research. Experiments on human beings are conducted on a daily basis, ranging from testing new surgical instruments and prosthetics to the effectiveness of new medical drugs. However, the history of human experimenting has shown that not all experiments are without moral controversy. From a philosophical point of view, this raises the question of under what circumstances we can consider an experiment morally permissible. This deliberation does not happen in a vacuum, but is informed by social, political and juridical aspects. In order to understand biomedical research on human beings it is important to investigate the values that underlie these practices, and which responsibilities and obligations are required from the involved parties. Moreover, human experimentation aimed at benefiting future generations is carried out on a large scale, but what has been less explicitly stated by scholars in bioethics are the interests of future generations, and how these interests play a role in establishing current research goals and priorities. This thesis is aimed to make this more explicit by investigating how concerns regarding the interests future generations of patients inform ethical decision making.
Item Type:Essay (Master)
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:08 philosophy
Programme:Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society MSc (60024)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/66532
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