The Ethics of Scientific Research

Data

Official data in SubjectManager for the following academic year: 2019-2020

Course director

Number of hours/semester

lectures: 0 hours

practices: 0 hours

seminars: 24 hours

total of: 24 hours

Subject data

  • Code of subject: OAF-TKE-T
  • 2 kredit
  • General Medicine
  • Optional modul
  • spring
Prerequisites:

-

Course headcount limitations

min. 5 – max. 25

Topic

The results of scientific researches have a great social impact and therefore the ethical problems raised by the practice of scientific researches are significant problems not only for the researchers, but for the wider society as well. The seminar helps to clarify the basic ethical, legal and philosophical concerns of medical research. During the semester the following subjects will be discussed: the criterions of rationality, reasoning and ethically correct debate, the characteristics and norms of scientific cognition, the ethics of scientific publication, the ethical and legal concerns of human and animal experimentation, neuroethical examples of the social impact of medical researches.

Lectures

Practices

Seminars

  • 1. Introduction
  • 2. Introduction
  • 3. Rationality and ethics
  • 4. Rationality and ethics
  • 5. The methodology of scientific research in natural sciences, and its ethical implications
  • 6. The methodology of scientific research in natural sciences, and its ethical implications
  • 7. The ethical concerns of clinical trials
  • 8. The ethical concerns of clinical trials
  • 9. The ethical concerns of clinical trials
  • 10. The ethical concerns of clinical trials
  • 11. Ethical problems raised by animal experimentation
  • 12. Ethical problems raised by animal experimentation
  • 13. The placebo effect
  • 14. The placebo effect
  • 15. Ethics and scientific achievement
  • 16. Ethics and scientific achievement
  • 17. Gene-ethics
  • 18. Gene-ethics II.
  • 19. The ethics of stem cell research
  • 20. The ethics of stem cell research II.
  • 21. Neuroethical examples of the social impact of medical research
  • 22. Summarizing discussion
  • 23. Test
  • 24. Test

Reading material

Obligatory literature

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Literature developed by the Department

Additional materials: Neptun MeetStreet

Notes

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Recommended literature

John Ziman: Is Science Losing its Objectivity?, Nature, Vol. 382, August 1996, p.751-754.
David Miller: Being an Absolute Skeptic, Science, Vol. 284, 1999 June, p.1625-1626.
Dale J. Benos et al: Ethics and Scientific Publication, Advances in Physiological Education, 29: 59-74, 2005.
Laura Bonetta: The Aftermath of Scientific Fraud, Cell, 2006 Mar 10; 124 (5):873-5.
Larry D. Claxton: Scientific Authorship, Mutation Research/Reviews in Mutation Research, Volume 589, Issue 1, January 2005, p. 17-45.
Porter DG: Ethical Scores for Animal Experiments, Nature, Vol. 356, March 1992, p.101-102.
Peter Singers: Practical Ethics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1979, Equality for animals?, p.48-72.
Tom Regan: Empty Cages: Animals Rights and Vivisection, Contemporary Debates in Applied Ethics, edited by Andrew I. Cohen and Christopher Heath Wellman , Blackwell Ltd, 2005, p.77-91.
Martha J. Farah: Emerging Ethical Issues in Neuroscience, Nature Neuroscience, 5/11, 2002,1123-1129.

Conditions for acceptance of the semester

Maximum of 25 % absence allowed

Mid-term exams

Written test taking place in the last class. To improve the grade, the test can be repeated two times in the first two weeks of the exam period. Oral exam is also an option for that purpose.

Making up for missed classes

According to the Code of Studies and Examinations.

Exam topics/questions

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Examiners

Instructor / tutor of practices and seminars

  • Dr. Szolcsányi Tibor