Faculty of Philosophy, University of Warsaw, Warszawa, Poland.
Bioethics. 2022 Oct;36(8):821-828. doi: 10.1111/bioe.13049. Epub 2022 May 16.
The ethical justifiability of the invitation of others to participate in research and their deliberate exposure to risks of harm is not a common topic in bioethics. If, however, some offers ought not to be made and the corresponding actions ought not to be facilitated, invitations to, and the conduct of, a medical study involving humans needs justification. This paper addresses this issue by linking the search for medical knowledge with solidarity. The argument begins with the observation that scientific research is aimed at general knowledge, which is a necessary condition of the social value of research. The applicability of this knowledge to many makes it potentially a public good; that is, a good that is available freely to all. For knowledge to be a public good, a social decision to make it freely available to all needs to be made. It is proposed that this decision be grounded in society's, and so in both researchers' and potential research participants', commitment to solidarity and its obligations of provision, sharing, support, and loyalty. These obligations imply, among other things, an imperfect obligation to participate in research and the corresponding entitlement of the investigators to invite others to participate in research, and so to expose them to its risks during implementation. This entitlement is exercised in an environment shaped by the standards and protections of research ethics and the relevant institutional arrangements.
他人参与研究并故意面临伤害风险的邀请在生命伦理学中并非一个常见的话题。然而，如果有些邀请不应该发出，相应的行为也不应该被促成，那么涉及人类的医学研究的邀请和实施就需要正当理由。本文通过将对医学知识的探索与团结联系起来，来解决这个问题。该论点始于这样一个观察，即科学研究旨在追求普遍知识，这是研究的社会价值的必要条件。由于该知识可能适用于许多人，因此它具有成为公共物品的潜力，即所有人均可免费获得的物品。要使知识成为公共物品，就需要做出一项社会决策，即将其免费提供给所有人。有人提议，这项决策应立足于社会，即研究人员和潜在研究参与者对团结及其提供、分享、支持和忠诚义务的承诺。这些义务除其他外，意味着参与研究的不完全义务以及调查人员邀请他人参与研究并因此在实施过程中使他们面临其风险的相应权利。这种权利是在研究伦理标准和保护措施以及相关机构安排所塑造的环境中行使的。
