The Concept of Scientific Research more

It is a commonly accepted view that research on humans should be ethically regulated. What is it about scientific research that requires special ethical consideration? In order to answer this question, in the paper I shall suggest that we should agree on a delimitation for the concept of scientific research, a sort of demarcation criterion that can be applied successfully in those cases in which we are in doubt as to whether a human activity satisfies the conditions for scientific research. Apart from the pressing ethical issues, I believe it is important to be able to offer an account of which activities count as scientific research, given the interest that society has in promoting legitimate research programmes as a means to benefit all citizens.

My suggestion, developed together with Bert Heinrichs as part of the European project EURECA, is that we need to consider both the procedural and functional dimensions of an activity before we can establish whether it is a genuine instance of scientific research. By placing research in a broader schema of activities, the similarities and differences between research activities and other activities become visible and it is easier to show why some activities that do not count as research can sometimes be confused with research (e.g. astrology and creationism) and some other activities can be regarded only partially as research (e.g. experimental therapy or work conducted as part of a Master dissertation). Although the concept of research is important to delimitate a class of activities which we might be morally obliged to promote, it is neither necessary nor sufficient for a human activity to be a genuine instance of scientific research in order to be subject to ethical regulation. I shall argue that all those activities that are likely to affect the rights and interests of sentient individuals and persons, whether they be research or not, raise ethical issues and might be in need of ethical regulation.