Week 5: Ethics in science

Question 1

Hvad er etik?

Answer 1

Etik er den del af filosofien som beskæftiger sig med moralske fænomener (”det gode” eller ”det rigtige”) – fra diskussioner om der findes objektive etiske normer til hvad man bør gøre i en bestemt kontekst.

Question 2

Dyreetik

Answer 2

Dyreetik: Hvem eller hvad har krav på etisk hensyn? hvis dyr har krav på etiske hensyn, bør disse så udformes efter overvejelser af positive og negative konsekvenser, eller også ud fra fundamentale rettigheder.

Dyrevelfærd: hvordan påvirkes dyrene under forskellige forhold? Fysiologiske forsøg og adfærdsstudier. Hvilke forhold kan føre til lidelse og stress? Kan disse reduceres?

Et samspil mellem normative spørgsmål (etik) og empiriske studier (videnskab) og , hvilke forhold er acceptable for dyr i landbrug og videnskabelige forsøg.

Question 3

Normative ethics

Answer 3

focuses on the general course of action or normative principles for what the right course of action would be. These guides can “prescribe” obligations or rights, or they can prescribe good action goals

Ex)
It’s wrong to kill, everyone has a right to life and freedom
How things should be and how they should be practiced

Question 4

Applied ethics

Answer 4

The actual use of the guides for the right course of actions that are discussed within normative ethics. These are done in concrete/actual situations.

Ex) Law making in regards to harmful chemicals, abortion and lab rats.
Questions: “how do we translate abstract normative ethics in concrete situations?” and “How do we make reasonable ethic choices instead of what’s the most convenient?”
This is where we see different area specific ethics/ professional ethics: Doctors ethics and bioethics.
Normative guidelines in actual situations

Question 5

Meta-ethics

Answer 5

refers to the “epistemological” and “ontological” basis for ethics.
Questions: “Does ethics exist?”, “Can we separate it from what isn’t ethical?”, “Is it absolute or relative?” and “How can we recognize what is right, and can ethical statements be true or false?”

Question 5

Descriptive ethics

Answer 5

Describes how ethical questions are handled in practice;
Ex) you can research ethical institutions in different contexts, like different cultures, among people with and without a scientific degree. This can help determine the factors that play a role in our moral judgments.
Explaining and describing people’s different views/opinions and situations. Instead of necessarily trying to find a solution or standard.
More impartial - also described as empirical ethics and the scientific part of ethics.

Question 6

Konsekvensetik (utilitarisme): nytteprincippet, lighedsprincippet og handlingsutilitarisme

Answer 6

Nytteprincippet: Den største mulige nytte for flest mulige

Lighedsprincippet: I udregningen bør personens lykke ikke vægte mere end en andens

Handlingsutilitarisme: vægten er på udfaldet af handlingen og vurderingen af den etiske korrekte handling skal ske i den enkelte situation

Question 7

Regelutilitarisme

Answer 7

Vi skal opsætte regler som generelt set fører til gode konsekvenser

Question 8

Præferenceutilitarisme