Title
Evolving Ethical Issues in Selection of Subjects for Clinical Research
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1996
Source
Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics
Volume
5
Issue
3
First Page
334
Last Page
345
URL with Digital Object Identifier
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0963180100007155
Abstract
Wittgenstein, in his famous critique of philosophy, noted that the influence of an idea can be such that it alters the way that we see the world. “It is like a pair of glasses on our nose through which we see whatever we look at,” he said. “It never occurs to us to take them off.” This view of the power of an idea suggests that the interpretation of an event, and what response this event calls for, can depend upon the view one has of the world. A person who is naive about medical facts may, for example, interpret chest pain upon exertion as a sign that he is “overdoing it”; were he more medically knowledgeable, the same symptom might be interpreted as a possible indicator of coronary artery disease. The naive interpretation calls for rest; the informed interpretation calls for medical attention as well.
Notes
Dr. Charles Weijer is currently a faculty member at The University of Western Ontario.