The Role of Philosophers in RCR Training

Thomas Edison is often credited with creating the first research laboratory. a Legend has it that when a new hire asked about the rules of the lab, Edison responded with a wisecrack: " We don't have rules. We're trying to accomplish something. " What do we try to accomplish in research? Research has an exciting objective, for in it we are trying to ask and answer the most difficult questions known. Notice how different this goal is from the goal of training young researchers in the responsible conduct of research (RCR). Here the aim is indeed to train people to obey rules, almost as if we were training a pet. It's " no secret, " as Melissa Anderson has noted, " that researchers tend to view instruction in the responsible conduct of research as an annoyance " (1). What is the role of philosophers in this area? Our role is to raise questions about the general approach. Is it working? Are the rules clear and consistent? Is ethics a source of rules and final answers—or of questions and further research? WHAT IS ETHICS? Ethics is a research area, a sub-field of philosophy in which we ask questions and look for answers about right and wrong, and good and bad. The study of ethics focuses on harms and benefits, virtues and vices, choices and dis-positions, conflicts and agreements, and the justifications of decisions. The three central branches are: • Descriptive ethics, the empirical study of what people actually do, believe, and value; • Normative ethics, the evaluative study of how we should behave in particular cases; and • Metaethics, the philosophical study of the foundations of moral language. Descriptive ethics involves psychological, sociological, and anthropological inquiry into ethical values as evidenced by, on the one hand, what people say they ought to do, and, on the other hand, by what they actually do. Metaethicists study questions such as: Where does morality come from? How do we ultimately justify ethical judgments? RCR falls primarily into the area of normative ethics, which analyzes the development of practical standards, and applies them to the following kinds of questions: What topic ought I to choose for my dissertation research? What should I do if I witness someone cheating? What policies and regulations concerning research would be the best for my institution to adopt? Theories of normative ethics help us to figure out how to behave, …