Ethics, Medical Research, and Medicine

Andrew Thompson

ISBN 10: 0792370848 / ISBN 13: 9780792370840

Published by Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands Aug 2001, 2001

About this Item

Neuware -Andrew Thompson, Norman J. Temple We humans are an extraordinary species. One of our finest achievements is the development of morality, of a sense of right and wrong. We articulate and then impose this sensitivity upon ourselves in the form of ethical guidelines, rules, regulations, and laws. We have, regrettably, also developed marvelously clever ways of justifying our behavior whenever it runs afoul of these prescriptions. We have, for example, developed the concept of objectivity to guide scientific pursuits and subsequently established rights which undermine the possibility of ever coming close to attaining the goal of being objective -- rights which entitle participating scientists to gain personal, tangible profits from scientific discoveries. Formerly, we envisaged gods who kept us in place, who reminded us that we were not all-powerful or especially wise. Now we tend to worship our achievements, especially our technological ones, and ourselves. Mary Midgley' aptly names this phenomenon, 'humanolatry.' We have lost our respect for nature in our enthusiasm for changing it to that which suits our shortsighted ends. We must, as she says, 'unlearn' this way of thinking.Springer Verlag GmbH, Tiergartenstr. 17, 69121 Heidelberg 216 pp. Englisch.

Seller Inventory # 9780792370840

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Ethics, Medical Research, and Medicine
• Publisher: Springer Netherlands, Springer Netherlands Aug 2001
• Publication Date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0792370848
• ISBN 13: 9780792370840
• Binding: Buch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 241W x 160H x 17D millimeters 241 millimeters width by 160 millimeters height by 17 millimeters depth
• Weight: 494 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Andrew Thompson, Norman J. Temple We humans are an extraordinary species. One of our finest achievements is the development of morality, of a sense of right and wrong. We articulate and then impose this sensitivity upon ourselves in the form of ethical guidelines, rules, regulations, and laws. We have, regrettably, also developed marvelously clever ways of justifying our behavior whenever it runs afoul of these prescriptions. We have, for example, developed the concept of objectivity to guide scientific pursuits and subsequently established rights which undermine the possibility of ever coming close to attaining the goal of being objective -- rights which entitle participating scientists to gain personal, tangible profits from scientific discoveries. Formerly, we envisaged gods who kept us in place, who reminded us that we were not all-powerful or especially wise. Now we tend to worship our achievements, especially our technological ones, and ourselves. Mary Midgley' aptly names this phenomenon, "humanolatry." We have lost our respect for nature in our enthusiasm for changing it to that which suits our shortsighted ends. We must, as she says, "unlearn" this way of thinking.

Synopsis

The authors of this book examine critically, and in a unique way, the poverty of medical ethics. They argue against spending almost unlimited amounts of money on medical treatment, and explore the serious biases in the way that medical research is conducted. In particular, they document how commercialization of research, especially in the pharmaceutical industry, leads to seriously distorted information being disseminated to physicians. The authors illustrate these problems using four examples: statin drugs, screening for breast and prostate cancer, genetic diagnosis and therapy, and the Swan ganz catheter. The book contrasts the greatly exaggerated merits of these medical practices with the clear advantages of a prevention approach. The book makes radical proposals for reforming these problems. It is a must-read for those interested in medical ethics, health policy, health economics, and medicine.