CONTROVERSY

Scientific research

Scientific research is a moral duty

John Harris

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
John Harris
john.m.harris@manchester.ac.uk

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Biomedical research is so important that there is a positive moral obligation to pursue it and to participate in it

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Keywords: scientific research; biomedical research; medical ethics

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Science is under attack. In Europe, America, and Australasia in particular, scientists are objects of suspicion and are on the defensive.ⁱ

"Frankenstein science"^5–8 is a phrase never far from the lips of those who take exception to some aspect of science or indeed some supposed abuse by scientists. We should not, however, forget the powerful obligation there is to undertake, support, and participate in scientific research, particularly biomedical research, and the powerful moral imperative that underpins these obligations. Now it is more imperative than ever to articulate and explain these obligations and to do so is the subject and the object of this paper.

Let me present the question in its starkest form: is there a moral obligation to undertake, support and even to participate in serious scientific research? If there is, does that obligation require not only that beneficial research be undertaken but also that "we", as . . . [Full text of this article]

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