This essay argues against such discontinuity by demonstrating John Calvin’s reception of ethical concepts from Augustine and Aristotle. Below, we reframe research oversight, drawing specifically on this complementary relationship between principles and virtues. Properly trained IRB members will be best positioned to reach optimal decisions when they are given freedom to exercise their judgment as regulators of research ethics. The virtue of honesty may direct one toward disapproving a proposal involving covert observation of social phenomena, whereas the virtue of fairness may suggest that covert observation is necessary to identify and address societal problems. It is often contrasted with deontology, which emphasizes following moral rules, and consequentialism, which determines the permissibility of an action from its consequences. The value of discussing challenging cases is enhanced when members are taught to pinpoint areas of conflict and to articulate how they would resolve the conflict. Without a ‘moral foundation’, he writes, ‘the professions do indeed become simply occupations, jobs, or means of livelihood like any other’ (Pellegrino, 2007: 61). Virtue Ethics In The Army A Moral Outcome The army states in ADRP 1-0 "The Army" that, “The Army ethic is the evolving set of laws, values and beliefs, deeply embedded within the core of the profession’s culture and practiced by its members to motivate and guide the conduct of individual members bound together in common moral purpose.” In our discussion below, we describe how the lessons of virtue ethics can help us reshape and reform IRBs to ensure that all research undergoes careful ethical review. The Advantages of Virtue Ethics . Regarding medical ethics, Pellegrino writes: ‘The tragic outcome of lax virtue is to invite increased societal control over the profession by means of externally imposed rules and regulations. Virtue ethics focuses on the importance of developing the habits of mind and character to engage and resolve ethical dilemmas while embracing, not forsaking, ethical principles. The foremost question in reviewing proposed human subjects research is determining whether the risks to human subjects are justified by the potential benefits to the subjects and the value of the knowledge to be gained. Some advocates of virtue ethics suggest that we determine the right virtues by asking a virtuous person, but that is just an exercise in question begging. The virtue of empathy allows reviewers to envision a research study from the perspective of a research subject or surrogate, understanding what information is required for subjects to make appropriate and informed decisions about research participation. Virtue ethics can remind us of the importance of role models. Virtue-based ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity. Virtue ethics emphasizes the central role played by motives in moral questions. We need the negative traits to admire the positive ones. Virtue ethics focuses on the development of sound moral character rather than moral rules. For example, courage may inspire approval of a human study of a new drug, whereas the virtue of temperance may suggest that more work on animal models would be necessary first. The mission of an IRB, however, is not to eliminate all possible risk, but rather to ensure that risks to subjects are outweighed by the sum of the expected benefit to the subject (if any) and the expected benefit to society in the form of knowledge to be gained (Code of Federal Regulations 45CFR46.111(2): FDA, 2013b). The primary charge to institutional review boards (IRBs) in the United States is to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects (Code of Federal Regulations 21CFR56.102(g): FDA, 2013a). The individual principles may be seen as claimants, and the virtuous research ethics professional as a judge determining how best to balance competing claims. Virtue can be dependent upon what society and individuals determine is morally good. We believe that such anticipatory governance is not desirable. Our proposal that excellence in research ethics requires limited regulation and greater latitude for IRBs to exercise their judgment can only be considered in the context of a firm commitment to IRB training and education and to deliberating within a virtue ethics framework. Virtue ethics is based on a positive view of human nature, one that takes into account that humans are strongly predisposed to (a) recognize excellence in others whom they can take as role models and (b) gain fulfillment from a life lived virtuously (eudaimonia). Virtue ethics is a moral theory that emphasizes the role of an individual's character and virtues in evaluating the rightness of actions. Consequentialism makes an appearance in research regulations and research ethics when we stipulate that the potential benefit of research (including future benefits to individuals not involved in the research) must be proportionate to the risks borne by study subjects. Virtue ethics not only deals with the rightness or wrongness of individual actions, it provides guidance as to the sort of characteristics and behaviours a good person will … To say that certain virtues are necessary for correct moral decisions is to say that correct moral decisions require correct motives. When presenting or discussing their own research, IRB members have the opportunity to discuss ethics questions and their resolution so that a culture of thoughtful ethical deliberation will diffuse throughout each IRB’s institution. As facility with these studies evolves, a body of precedents will emerge, gradually defining best practices. In the following sections, we argue for virtue ethics inspired revisions to (i) how IRBs are structured, (ii) how IRB members are trained and educated, and (iii) how we determine the appropriate limits of regulations in research ethics oversight. This site uses cookies. Virtue ethics is based in Aristotelian philosophy and was a dominant influence in the classical period, though it was later eclipsed by principle-based ethical philosophies. Aristotle suggests that every art and every investigation, as well as every pursuit and every action, aims at some good; therefore, the good has … There are several different ways that we can look at virtue. IRBs must review proposed research that impacts two distinct groups of stakeholders: the future subjects of the research and the investigators conducting the research. IRB membership is largely self-selecting for people who sincerely want to advance responsible research. We have suggested three ways in which the lessons of virtue ethics suggest revisions or refinements to the current research regulation paradigm: (i) changes in the structure of the IRB; (ii) focus on virtue ethics in the education of IRB members; and (iii) avoidance of overregulation of research practices. Ethical problems are often complex and novel; they present themselves in unique contexts in which conflicting principles are at stake. By practicing being honest, brave, just, generous, and so on, a person develops an honorable and moral character. Virtue ethics is primarily concerned with traits of character that are essential to human flourishing, not with the enumeration of duties. Other moral theories share a common difficulty not found in virtue ethics. It is one of three major moral theories. Pellegrino emphasizes the critical need for a ‘moral foundation’ for professionalism. Beliefs and Choices: Do You Choose Your Religion? To act from virtue is to act from some particular motivation. Greater autonomy increases the rewards and motivational utility of eudaimonia, which in turn will help IRB members to achieve excellence as research ethicists. We believe that IRB members will engage even more strongly with the research ethics endeavor if given appropriate training and opportunities to use their judgment. Institutional review boards have a dual goal: first, to protect the rights and welfare of human research subjects, and second, to support and facilitate the conduct of valuable research. The value of a clear report of the IRB deliberation process and careful articulation of the IRB’s reasoning in this context should not be overlooked. Rosalind Hursthouse, who has made notable contributions to this development, here presents a full exposition and defense of her neo-Aristotelian version of virtue ethics. As such, the idea of moderation and compromise are intrinsic to the theory. Virtue ethics regained prominence in the latter half of the twentieth century, largely in response to Anscombe’s 1958 ‘Modern moral philosophy’ (Anscombe, 1958). The primary question virtue ethics asks is not ‘what potentially contradictory commandments must I obey?’ but ‘how should a virtuous person act in this situation?’ Virtue ethics offers the potential for more flexible and creative solutions than principlism or consequentialism alone (Gardiner, 2003). An Atheist's View of the Christian Right's Agenda and Beliefs, Ethics and Morality FAQ: Teleology and Ethics, Teleology and Ethics: Actions and Consequences. Roman Stoics like Seneca and Marcus Aurelius also focused on character rather than abstract principles. IRB members should be selected in large part on the basis of scientific expertise and research experience in addition to a commitment to research ethics. The fact that rule-based and duty-based ethical systems are complicated and difficult to employ also cannot make a person of good character more likely to make the right choices. Deontology rather emphasises the use of duties and rules, and utilitarianism emphasises the importance of consequences of one’s actions (Hursthouse, 2001). The first systematic description of virtue ethics was written down by Aristotle in his famous work "Nichomachean Ethics.". Powell and colleagues describe a method to evaluate a responsible conduct of research course, in which decision-making skills are evaluated through individuals’ responses to brief scenarios (Powell et al., 2007). Nevertheless, when someone chooses which actions to carry out, those choices reflect his or her character. Pellegrino and Thomasma (1993) offer a list of virtues for physicians. ‘Virtue ethics’, is an agent-centred approach in normative ethics that stresses the importance of moral characters and virtues, which is unlike the two other major approaches in the field (Hursthouse, 2013) . Many common moral decisions may indeed come more easily to a person of the “right” moral character. How well that generalization applies to humanity as a whole is a very legitimate question, but we believe that this optimistic view does apply to individuals who choose to serve on IRBs. Austin Cline, a former regional director for the Council for Secular Humanism, writes and lectures extensively about atheism and agnosticism. We do believe it would be valuable for IRB members, however, perhaps as a yearly group session. In both of these styles of Others disagree about the significance of profession-specific virtues: McIntyre contends that the virtues are independent of professional skills, and Annas’ theory of virtue is explicitly focused on the virtue of individual people (Annas, 2011; MacIntyre, 1981). Perhaps a key to understanding virtue theories of ethics is to regard them as ways to approach moral psychology rather than moral epistemology, or knowledge. For more information view the SAGE Journals Article Sharing page. For example, in Normative Virtue Ethics, Hursthouse (2003) writes "honesty points to telling the hurtful truth, kindness and compassion (point us) to remaining silent or even lying" (p. 28). Available at: View or download all content the institution has subscribed to. Ethics, Morals, and Values: How Do They Relate? Consequentialism, by contrast, is based on the idea that right choices are those with the best overall consequences. Meetings of the convened board should focus on research ethics, directly informed by knowledge of the science. Virtue ethics recognizes that resolution of difficult problems depends, above all, on the character (that is, on the virtues) of the people making decisions. The importance of this point of eudaimonistic virtue ethics is that it reverses the relationship between virtue and rightness. Declaration of conflicting interestsThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. The lure of scientific discovery is strong, and the temptation will always exist for expedient solutions in study design or recruitment strategies. The most successful programs were ‘case-based, interactive and allowed participants to learn and practice the application of real-world ethical decision-making skills’ (Antes et al., 2009). For example, the IRB staff should identify special populations affected by the research, prompting the board to make the required determinations regarding inclusion of vulnerable populations. We acknowledge that encouraging flexibility in regulations and reliance on board members’ thoughtful deliberation may result in more heterogeneity among IRBs. Plato identified wisdom, temperance, justice and courage as cardinal virtues (Plato, 360 BCE). Education informed by virtue ethics requires a focus on reasons and explanations. Calls for less regulation must come from within a profession firmly committed to developing and maintaining the capacity to bear this trust. Virtue ethicists discuss the nature and definition of virtues and other related problems that focus on the consequences of action. Ethics III 3) Although virtue is different from intelligence, then, the acquisition of virtue relies heavily upon the exercise of that intelligence. What virtues are characteristic of the person I want to be? Aristotle’s virtue ethics theory is important in addressing many ethical problems in business and organization management because virtue and moral character “provides the wisdom necessary for applying rules in particular instances” (Hinman, 2006). Research regulations, principle-based bioethics, and virtue ethics each contribute uniquely and critically to excellence in research oversight (Figure 1). We will argue that ethics principles and regulations, although vital, are not sufficient for excellent research oversight. Virtues, as conceptualized by Aristotle, represent ‘the mean by reference to two vices: the one of excess and the other of deficiency’ (Aristotle, translated 1886). Annas describes that the virtuous moral actor ‘responds directly to the situation in an intelligent way, one which takes account of all the relevant factors’ (Annas, 2011). ɪ k /, from Greek ἀρετή ()) are normative ethical theories which emphasize virtues of mind, character and sense of honesty. However, neither a deontological nor a consequentialist approach provides sufficient direction when faced with competing or incommensurable claims or consequences. Aristotle expanded the list to: justice, courage, temperance, magnificence, magnanimity, liberality, gentleness, prudence, and, especially, wisdom (Aristotle, 350 BCE). Real-life cases that challenge IRBs offer valuable opportunities for education. Attention to these fundamental principles provides a common language, focusing and organizing research ethics debates. 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