IFIKK, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
J Med Ethics. 2023 Jul;49(7):474-480. doi: 10.1136/jme-2022-108710. Epub 2023 Jan 23.
In applied ethics, and in medical treatment and research, the question of how we should treat others is a central problem. In this paper, I address the ethical role of assent in research involving human beings who lack capacity. I start by thinking about why consent is ethically important, and consider what happens when consent is not possible. Drawing on the work of the German philosopher Honneth, I discuss the concept of reification-a phenomenon that manifests itself when we fail to observe or respond to our fellow humans' need for recognition. I suggest that assent is a way of responding to this moral need for recognition, which exists independently of cognitive capacity. I will look at the circumstances in which consent cannot be obtained from human beings, and ask whether some of the same ethically important considerations that underpin the need for consent might be achieved through seeking assent. I discuss the ways in which this might be beneficial for researchers, for prospective research participants and for society at large.
在应用伦理学以及医疗和研究中，我们应该如何对待他人是一个核心问题。在本文中，我将探讨在涉及无行为能力的人类的研究中，同意的伦理作用。我首先思考为什么同意在伦理上很重要，并考虑在无法获得同意的情况下会发生什么。我借鉴德国哲学家霍耐特的著作，讨论了物化的概念——当我们未能观察或回应我们的同类对认可的需求时，这种现象就会表现出来。我认为，同意是回应这种对认可的道德需求的一种方式，这种需求独立于认知能力而存在。我将研究无法从人类那里获得同意的情况，并询问是否可以通过寻求同意来实现一些同样对同意的必要性至关重要的伦理考虑。我将讨论这对研究人员、潜在的研究参与者以及整个社会可能带来的好处。
