SUMMARY

A system of morals or a deontological code of behavior is a set of norms that establish permissions, prohibitions and obligations. The philosophical analysis and eventual justification of such norms is the subject matter of ethics. Bioethics is ethics concerned with living beings. Here we consider bioethical issues that arise in the course of biomedical research.

One important source of bioethical problems arises from the conflict between our positive valuation of knowledge and our negative valuation of pain and suffering in general. These problems concern research carried out on animals (human or otherwise), creatures capable of suffering. Many attitudes towards the use of animals in research are mere superstition and incompatible with a scientific world view. As a matter of scientific fact, there is no huge gap or abyss between humans and other animals. The moral consideration of both cannot be totally different.

We analyze concrete cases of polemical research in biology and medicine: cloning, transgenic organisms, vivisection, research on primates, research on corpses, neurological research and dubious practices on brains of living human beings. We end with an appeal to openness and rationality.