Caitlin Sampson Philosophy 1050 3-Dec-09

Scientific Obligations in a Global Society:

Is it the obligation of a researcher to protect the best interests of society at large?

In the modern world we have achieved a pinnacle of scientific knowledge. But despite it all we have yet to eliminate human suffering. We have found no cure for cancer or AIDS, and watch as innocent people die every day. To find cures for these and numerous other diseases we must gain further knowledge in medical treatments and techniques. It is the obligation of the researcher to protect and promote the interests of society at large. This obligation focuses research into the applied sciences and the prevention of harm and human suffering. Medical research is one of the best examples of this. It is for the most part undisputed that the advancements in medical practises benefits society as a whole. However the trend to focus research into applied scientific research in fields such as medicine, does not remove other types of research. Instead, research that appears to be less beneficial to society as a whole is not the main focus of researchers. These types of research, such as military research, are still done but they are not be given priority over the more beneficial forms of research. In Canada we think nothing of going to the doctor for a check up, or having a broken bone set in the hospital. Our health care system allows us easy access to these resources, but this is not the case in most countries. In many nations medicine is too expensive, and not readily available to the general public. Despite the limited access

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medicine is necessary to save lives. To increase global access to life saving medicine we must find more cost-effective drugs and techniques or build further on those used today. Increasing the efficiency of a drug is not simple by any means. It takes extensive research and many trials with both human and nonhuman subjects. In 2007 over 12

million people were diagnosed with cancer, of that as few as 32 percent will survive five years.(Garcia M, 2007) The rate of survival is directly influenced by the availability and affordability of treatment. In sub-Saharan Africa only two hundred thousand (32 percent) of the over six hundred thousand people infected with cancer will survive. .(Garcia M, 2007) While these odds are far worse than those present in Canada and other rich nations they reflect the inequalities of access to affordable medicine. It is the obligation of the scientific researchers to work to minimize harm to society as a whole. The minimization of harm is in the best interest of society as a whole, as it benefits all of society. So by connection, the prevention of harm through increased accessibility to the advancements from research is in the best interest of society at large. It then becomes the obligation of scientists to attempt to maximize the potential for their research to be applied globally. This obligation promotes equal access to the benefits created by their research, particularly medical research. The gradient present in the global levels of accessibility to the advancements from research goes against Egalitarianism, and supports this obligation. Egalitarianism proclaims an equality of rights for all people regardless of race, religion, or income. (Egalitarianism, 2002) By this definition, the wealth of a single person or nation should have no impact on the availability of medicine. This is further presented in article twenty-five of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR states that Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his

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family, including ..... medical care and necessary social services .... This statement suggests that the cost of health and medical care should vary based on the income of any one individual. The large variation in possible individual incomes creates some difficulty in this matter. So in place of individually customizing the cost of healthcare, it would be beneficial to have the cost of health care or medications depend on the relative wealth of each nation. The equality of access to medical care minimizes harm and potential harm to society globally. This minimization falls in line with utility ethics. Utility ethics says for an act to be good it must minimize net harm.(Snoeyenbos, 1999) However this does not mean that if a large number of people are harmed the act is wrong. Instead it says that the duration, intensity and number of people harmed must be minimized. (Snoeyenbos, 1999) That is to say, if a few people are intensely harmed, and the harm continues for a long period, it is worse than if a larger number of people are slightly harmed. Utilitarian calculus also states that all persons are equal, in agreement with Egalitarianism. The scientist must work to minimize harm, but they may not be able to remove it completely. The minimization of overall harm and equality of access to the benefits of the research makes a field of research ethical. These same factors ensure that the research protects the best interest of society. No type of research should be removed in order to protect the interests of the members of society at large. There is no way to determine, for certain, if any one type does not result in the protection of the interests of society at large. Fields such as military research do not always have apparent connections to the protection of the best interests of society globally. Some may even argue that they act to harm the best interests of society at large. This is by far one of the most serious objections to the idea of the obligation of scientists to protest the interests of society at large. The potential

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limit on types of research done could negatively impact the types of research that protects the interests of society at large. These other types of research may not directly protect but they can promote. Any type of research helps to expand the current

knowledge base. The increase in knowledge helps to further the types of research that protect society at large. Therefore, any type of research could protect the interests of society, through the promotion of these interests. This means that a field such as military research could help to further a research type such as medicine. Because of the potential for any type of research to promote research that protects the best interests of society, no type of research should be removed. Every scientist has obligations to society at large. For the upholding of these obligations scientists must protect the best interests of society globally. This requires that they focus their research in fields that have the largest potential to benefit society. While ensuring their research produces minimal harm. The results of the research must be accessible to a large portion of the global population if not the entire population. The researcher must attempt to allow the benefits of their research to be available to all of society, regardless of their economic status. As well, researchers must consider the potential of any field of research to promote the protection of the best interests of the global society. No field of research should ever be banned, but the focus of researchers overall should center upon benefiting society.

Works Cited: "Egalitarianism." Stanfored Encylopedia of Philosophy. April 2002. Web. Accessed 28 Nov. 2009. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/egalitarianism/>.

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Garcia M, Jemal A, Ward EM, Center MM, Hao Y, Siegel RL, Thun MJ. Global Cancer Facts & Figures 2007. Atlanta, GA: American Cancer Society, 2007. Snoeyenbos, M., and J. Humber. 1999. Utilitarianism and business ethics. A companion to business ethics: pages 17 - 29 "Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)." UDHR.NET - Celebrating 60th Anniversary of UDHR - Connecticut Coalition on Human Rights. Web. 28 Nov. 2009. <http://udhr.net/index.php/udhr-full-text>.