Reflections about research ethics in humans

Abstract

In order to propose the necessary moral reflection about the personal responsibility that each researcher assumes when he performs scientific research in human beings, an essay of moral and scientific themes is presented, using information from the relevant scientific and ethical literature. Around the concepts of heteronomous and autonomous ethics, it is proposed that ultimately and beyond informed consent and training courses on research ethics, the behavior of the researcher will depend on his/her own moral responsibility, tested in different situational contexts. Two explanatory models are used in order to understand this dynamic, the one of normality in mental health and the one of moral development of men. We conclude that the research process in human beings is a scientific and moral activity that, depending in various situations of conflicts of interest, will always test the researcher’s moral controls.