Term
| How the wrongs of Tuskegee go beyond Nuremberg |
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Definition
Failure and lack of Informed Consent
Preying upon vulnerable populations
Failure to medically treat experimental subjects
Unnecessary experimentation (although the motivation may be unique in Tuskegee – see below) |
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Term
| What sets Tuskegee apart from those other cases |
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Definition
Racist justification (albeit “well-intentioned”)
It was believed and argued that “the natural course of syphilis in blacks and whites was not the same” (King 35). |
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Term
| Andreasen maps out the positions Regarding the Use of Race as a Research Variable |
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Definition
| Eliminativism vs Conservationism |
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Term
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Definition
| Race should be eliminated as a variable in biomedical research. |
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Term
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Definition
| Race should be retained as a variable in biomedical research. |
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Term
| Strictly Social Conservationism – |
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Definition
| While there are no biological differences between the races, race should be retained as a measure of how racism affects health outcomes. |
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Term
| Biosocial Conservationism – |
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Definition
| Race should be retained to measure the effects of racism as well as any potential biological differences between the races. |
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Term
| Strictly Biological Conservationism (Implied) – |
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Definition
| Race should be retained solely for the purposes of discovering biological differences between the races. |
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Term
| An Argument for Eliminativism |
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Definition
Racial categories are biological fictions.
If racial categories are biological fictions, then no useful biomedical data can be obtained including race as a variable.
If no useful biomedical data can be obtained by including race as a variable, then we should eliminate race as a variable in biomedical research.
So, if racial categories are biological fictions, then we should eliminate race as a variable in biomedical research (hypothetical syllogism 2,3).
Therefore, we should eliminate race as a variable in biomedical research (modus ponens 1,4) |
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Term
| What is a Biological Conception of Race? |
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Definition
| Race in biomedical research is self-reported *self-determined through ancestory, overt physical, genotypic similarity |
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Term
| Moral of the story with racial groups throughout time |
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Definition
| race is multiply ambiguous. Race meant something different in 1860 than today |
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Term
| Problem with the argument for eliminativism |
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Definition
Premises 1 and 2 are are not obviously true. However, there may be other considerations that might favor eliminativism.
Racial categories are biological fictions.
If racial categories are biological fictions, then no useful biomedical data can be obtained including race as a variable. |
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Term
| The dilemma of difference |
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Definition
Either we take account of racial differences in biomedical research or we don’t.
(Horn 1) If we don’t take account of racial differences in biomedical research (and treat all patients as the same as the majority population), then we risk failing to recognize racially correlated factors related to health.
(Horn 2) If, on the other hand, we do take account of racial differences (perhaps in a well-intentioned attempt to respond to past injustices), then we risk reinforcing negative (and harmful) stereotypes associated with racial difference. |
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Term
| Reasons to Include Race Data in Biomedical Research |
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Definition
1. There may be biological differences between the races regarding susceptibility to diseases and knowing those differences could improve healthcare for affected groups.
2. Race is a reliable index for economic and social conditions that might affect health outcomes.
3. Fairness – both the benefits and burdens of biomedical research should be spread evenly across the population regardless of race, ethnicity, etc. (However recall horn 2 of our dilemma) |
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Term
| the Tuskegee study was “justified” |
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Definition
| as an effort to determine differences in the pathogenesis of syphilis between blacks and whites. |
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Term
| The justification of the Tuskegee study led to |
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Definition
| to a tragedy – meaning that our track record with investigating racial differences is not that good. |
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Term
| looking for (biological) race related differences may cause us to ignore |
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Definition
| social and economic factors that play an important role in health outcomes. |
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Term
| According to King, one way out of the dilemma is to adopt a |
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Definition
| Methodological priority of eliminativism |
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Term
| Methodological priority of eliminativism |
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Definition
| Clearly, priority should be given to exploring the possible social, cultural, and environmental determinants of disease before targeting the study of hypotheses that involve biological differences between blacks and whites” (King 37). |
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Term
| Residual and measured conservationism – |
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Definition
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