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17Learning Not Just From But With Citizens: The Importance of Co-Design in Health-Related Social ResearchAmerican Journal of Bioethics 19 (8): 54-56. 2019.In recent years, there has been a distinct shift in the relationship between science and society. We have moved away from the classic unidirectional “deficit” model (Simis et al. 2016) focused on t...
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57The Bermuda Triangle: The Pragmatics, Policies, and Principles for Data Sharing in the History of the Human Genome ProjectJournal of the History of Biology 51 (4): 693-805. 2018.The Bermuda Principles for DNA sequence data sharing are an enduring legacy of the Human Genome Project. They were adopted by the HGP at a strategy meeting in Bermuda in February of 1996 and implemented in formal policies by early 1998, mandating daily release of HGP-funded DNA sequences into the public domain. The idea of daily sharing, we argue, emanated directly from strategies for large, goal-directed molecular biology projects first tested within the “community” of C. elegans researchers, a…Read more
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13Matthew Smith. Another Person’s Poison: A History of Food Allergy. xii + 290 pp., bibl., index. New York: Columbia University Press, 2015. $29.95 (review)Isis 107 (4): 888-889. 2016.
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16Geneticization in MIM/OMIM®? Exploring Historic and Epistemic Drivers of Contemporary Understandings of Genetic DiseaseJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 42 (4): 367-384. 2017.Prior to the genomic sequencing era, the bible for those working in clinical genetics was McKusick’s Mendelian Inheritance in Man, which appeared in multiple editions between the 1960s and the late 1990s. This catalogue was organized according to general patterns of inheritance and focused on phenotypes. Beginning in the mid-1980s, it was replaced by Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man, a continuously updated catalogue documenting molecular relationships between genetic variation and phenotypic …Read more
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32Detecting Themes and Variations: The Use of Cases in Developmental BiologyPhilosophy of Science 79 (5): 644-654. 2012.This article unpacks a particular use of ‘cases’ within developmental biology, namely as a means of describing the typical or canonical patterns of phenomena. The article explores how certain cases have come to be established within the field and argues that although they were initially selected for reasons of convenience or ease of experimental manipulation, these cases come to serve as key reference points within the field because of the epistemological structures imposed on them by the scient…Read more
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25Recasting the Debate on Multiple Listing for Transplantation through Consideration of Both Principles and PracticeCambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 8 (3): 330-339. 1999.Debates continue to surround the system in the United States for allocating transplantable cadaveric organs, due in large part to the scarcity of such organs in relation to the number of individuals waiting to undergo transplantation. Candidates awaiting transplantation gain access to cadaveric organs by being placed by individual transplant programs on the national list of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, overseen by the United Network for Organ Sharing. In recent years, the U…Read more
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37Double Meanings Will Not Save the Principle of Double EffectJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 39 (3): 304-316. 2014.In an article somewhat ironically entitled “Disambiguating Clinical Intentions,” Lynn Jansen promotes an idea that should be bewildering to anyone familiar with the literature on the intention/foresight distinction. According to Jansen, “intention” has two commonsense meanings, one of which is equivalent to “foresight.” Consequently, questions about intention are “infected” with ambiguity—people cannot tell what they mean and do not know how to answer them. This hypothesis is unsupported by evid…Read more
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34On not taking objective risk assessments at face valueAmerican Journal of Bioethics 4 (3). 2004.This Article does not have an abstract
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20Inviting Everyone to the Table: Strategies for More Effective and Legitimate Food Policy via Deliberative ApproachesJournal of Social Philosophy 47 (1): 10-24. 2016.
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44The ethos and ethics of translational researchAmerican Journal of Bioethics 8 (3). 2008.Calls for the “translation” of research from bench to bedside are increasingly demanding. What is translation, and why does it matter? We sketch the recent history of outcome-oriented translational research in the United States, with a particular focus on the Roadmap Initiative of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, MD). Our main example of contemporary translational research is stem cell research, which has superseded genomics as the translational object of choice. We explore the natur…Read more
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2The Conqueror Worm: An Historical and Philosophical Examination of the Use of the Nematode Caenorhabditis Elegans as a Model OrganismDissertation, University of Pittsburgh. 1997.This study focuses on the concept of a 'model organism' in the biomedical sciences through an historical and philosophical examination of research with the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. I explore the choice of C. elegans in the mid-1960s, showing a rich context existed within which the organism was selected as the focus for a molecular biological research program, including an experimental life prior to Sydney Brenner's work. I argue that this choice can be seen as an obvious outcome of what …Read more
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225Model organisms as models: Understanding the 'lingua Franca' of the human genome projectProceedings of the Philosophy of Science Association 2001 (3). 2001.Through an examination of the actual research strategies and assumptions underlying the Human Genome Project (HGP), it is argued that the epistemic basis of the initial model organism programs is not best understood as reasoning via causal analog models (CAMs). In order to answer a series of questions about what is being modeled and what claims about the models are warranted, a descriptive epistemological method is employed that uses historical techniques to develop detailed accounts which, in t…Read more
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103Fashioning descriptive models in biology: Of Worms and wiring diagramsPhilosophy of Science 67 (3): 272. 2000.The biological sciences have become increasingly reliant on so-called 'model organisms'. I argue that in this domain, the concept of a descriptive model is essential for understanding scientific practice. Using a case study, I show how such a model was formulated in a preexplanatory context for subsequent use as a prototype from which explanations ultimately may be generated both within the immediate domain of the original model and in additional, related domains. To develop this concept of a de…Read more
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106The Moral Status of Preferences for Directed Donation: Who Should Decide Who Gets Transplantable Organs?Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 10 (4): 387-398. 2001.Bioethics has entered a new era: as many commentators have noted, the familiar mantra of autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice has proven to be an overly simplistic framework for understanding problems that arise in modern medicine, particularly at the intersection of public policy and individual preferences. A tradition of liberal pluralism grounds respect for individual preferences and affirmation of competing conceptions of the good. But we struggle to maintain (or at times expli…Read more
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988Managing intentions: The end-of-life administration of analgesics and sedatives, and the possibility of slow euthanasiaBioethics 22 (7): 388-396. 2008.There has been much debate regarding the 'double-effect' of sedatives and analgesics administered at the end-of-life, and the possibility that health professionals using these drugs are performing 'slow euthanasia.' On the one hand analgesics and sedatives can do much to relieve suffering in the terminally ill. On the other hand, they can hasten death. According to a standard view, the administration of analgesics and sedatives amounts to euthanasia when the drugs are given with an intention to …Read more
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Paul Rabinow, Making PCR: A Story of Biotechnology Reviewed by (review)Philosophy in Review 17 (1): 67-69. 1997.
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24Individual responsibility and reproductionIn Rosamond Rhodes, Leslie Francis & Anita Silvers (eds.), The Blackwell Guide to Medical Ethics, Blackwell. 2007.The prelims comprise: Why Is Reproductive Choice Important? Is There a Right to Reproduce? Is There a Duty to Reproduce? Are There Duties Not to Reproduce? Responsibilities in Reproductive Decisions Are There Rights to Rear Children? Conclusions References.
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65A View of Bioethics from Down UnderCambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 12 (3): 242-246. 2003.When I immigrated to Australia from the United States a few years ago, at first I found many similarities between the countries. But underneath the apparent similarities, notably a shared language, lay much deeper differences in history, politics, and culture that have considerable impacts on attitudes and approaches to issues in bioethics and medicine. For instance, debates continue regarding cloning and embryonic stem cell research, particularly given the long history of research in reproducti…Read more
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3Tissue Economies: Blood, Organs, and Cell Lines in Late Capitalism (review)Isis 98 432-433. 2007.
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48Model Organisms as Models: Understanding the 'Lingua Franca' of the Human Genome ProjectPhilosophy of Science 68 (S3). 2001.Through an examination of the actual research strategies and assumptions underlying the Human Genome Project, it is argued that the epistemic basis of the initial model organism programs is not best understood as reasoning via causal analog models. In order to answer a series of questions about what is being modeled and what claims about the models are warranted, a descriptive epistemological method is employed that uses historical techniques to develop detailed accounts which, in turn, help to …Read more
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93How history and philosophy of science and medicine could save the life of bioethicsJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 28 (1). 2003.This Article does not have an abstract
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75The ethics of inheritable genetic modification: a dividing line? (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2006.Is inheritable genetic modification the new dividing line in gene therapy? The editors of this searching investigation, representing clinical medicine, public health and biomedical ethics, have established a distinguished team of scientists and scholars to address the issues from the perspectives of biological and social science, law and ethics, including an intriguing Foreword from Peter Singer. Their purpose is to consider how society might deal with the ethical concerns raised by inheritable …Read more
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104Narratives of 'terminal sedation', and the importance of the intention-foresight distinction in palliative care practiceBioethics 27 (1): 1-11. 2011.The moral importance of the ‘intention–foresight’ distinction has long been a matter of philosophical controversy, particularly in the context of end-of-life care. Previous empirical research in Australia has suggested that general physicians and surgeons may use analgesic or sedative infusions with ambiguous intentions, their actions sometimes approximating ‘slow euthanasia’. In this paper, we report findings from a qualitative study of 18 Australian palliative care medical specialists, using i…Read more
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21“If We're Happy to Eat It, Why Wouldn't We Be Happy to Give It to Our Children?” Articulating the Complexities Underlying Women's Ethical Views on Genetically Modified FoodInternational Journal of Feminist Approaches to Bioethics 9 (1): 166-191. 2016.I’m sick of being treated like a dumb Mum who doesn’t understand the science. As far as I’m concerned, my family’s health is just too important. … If the government can’t protect the safety of my family, then I will.Recent Greenpeace activism in Australia resulted in the destruction of a field trial of a line of wheat “designed” to improve human nutrition. This incident demonstrates that, while there is significant ongoing public and private investment in genetically modified crop research and d…Read more
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University of AdelaideDepartment of Historical and Classical Studies
Department of PhilosophyProfessor
Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Philosophy of Biology |