Ethics Articles

All Articles

Information Privacy: A Case Study and Commentary

A proposal for a National AIDS registry raises concerns about privacy
Michael McFarland, S.J.

Biotechnology and Ethics Class (video)

Students learn the science, social impact, and ethics behind advances in biotechnology

Perspectives on Cognitive Enhancement

Hank Greely, professor of law at Stanford University, and the Emerging Issues Group at the Ethics Center look at the ethics of taking brain-boosting drugs.

Finals Week: What to do about stimulants?

A case exploring whether taking drugs like Adderall to improve cognitive performance is simply a form of enhancement or a form of cheating.
Rebecca Fox-Bivona

Reflections on Research Ethics

The editor of Science magazine and president emeritus of Stanford University discusses issues confronting universities and journals.
Donald Kennedy

Neuroethics: The Neuroscience Revolution, Ethics, and the Law

When science expands our understanding of something so central to human existence, these advances will necessarily cause changes in both our society and its laws. This paper seeks to forecast and explore the social and legal changes that neuroscience might bring in four areas: prediction, litigation, confidentiality and privacy, and patents.
Hank Greely

Politics and Science

Whatever one's view on the stem cell debate, good ethical thinking is never the result of compliance. It involves rigorous consideration of possible actions, not capitulation to a prefabricated conclusion, political or otherwise.
Margaret R. McLean

Framework for Thinking Ethically About Human Biotechnology

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics Framework is applied to issues in biotech.
Margaret R. McLean

Ethics and Personhood: Some Issues in Contemporary Neurological Science and Technology

David Perry