Pamela J. started following the work of Michaela McSweeney, Princeton University, Philosophy.
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Pamela J. added themselves to the department Philosophy and added a teaching document and changed a Contact section, an About section.
Faculty-Instructor, Philosophy
Thesis Title: Revising the Philosophical Foundation for Informed Consent Guidelines in Research on Human Subjects
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David Boonin
Eric Chwang |
About
In my dissertation, I argue that current international guidelines for informed consent in research on human subjects should be revised in order to be more globally applicable. Because many people who live in less developed countries wish to include community in the informed consent process, the foundation and guidelines for informed consent must attend to how community involvement can enhance or impede autonomy. The present provisions for involving community are not specific enough. This is due to the reliance on the traditional account of respect for autonomy, which overlooks the impact that social structures, or differences in race, class, gender, and disability have on autonomy. What is needed is a relational account of autonomy that attends to the many ways that social structures affect autonomy. To illustrate how this change would be reflected in policy, I argue for a set of ethical conditions for respecting relational autonomy and propose amendments to the current guidelines.
After completing my dissertation, I was left with the following concern. Having identified possible restraints to autonomy for oppressed populations, I am concerned that this could be used to deny people autonomous decision-making in the medical context. In my dissertation, I acquiesced to current international guidelines for research on human subjects, which state that we should recognize that vulnerable populations might encounter additional restraints to their autonomy but we should not assume that they therefore lack autonomy. Because I find this philosophically unsatisfying, my current research is analyzing the question of how to balance recognizing restraints to autonomy for vulnerable populations without further perpetuating their oppression. I am presenting a paper at the 10th Hawaii International Conference for the Arts & Humanities in January 2012 on this topic. Note that I have chosen an interdisciplinary audience in order to receive diverse input on the problems and proposed solutions surrounding this issue.
Contact Information
| Address: | Department of Philosophy
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| Telephone: |
(303) 492-6132 |
