The ethical case against ethical regulation in humanities and social science research

摘要

The system of pre-emptive ethical regulation developed in the biomedical sciences has become a major threat to research in the humanities and the social sciences (HSS). Although there is growing criticism of its effects, most commentators have tended to accept the principle of regulation. This paper argues that we should not make this concession and that ethical regulation is fundamentally wrong because the damage that it inflicts on a democratic society far exceeds any harm that HSS research is capable of causing to individuals.