Bjørn Myskja | Norwegian University of Science and Technology (original) (raw)
Papers by Bjørn Myskja
BMC Medical Ethics, Oct 19, 2018
Background: In the debate on conscientious objection in healthcare, proponents of conscience righ... more Background: In the debate on conscientious objection in healthcare, proponents of conscience rights often point to the imperative to protect the health professional's moral integrity. Their opponents hold that the moral integrity argument alone can at most justify accommodation of conscientious objectors as a "moral courtesy", as the argument is insufficient to establish a general moral right to accommodation, let alone a legal right. Main text: This text draws on political philosophy in order to argue for a legal right to accommodation. The moral integrity arguments should be supplemented by the requirement to protect minority rights in liberal democracies. Citizens have a right to live in accordance with their fundamental moral convictions, and a right to equal access to employment. However, this right should not be unconditional, as that would unduly infringe on the rights of other citizens. The right must be limited to cases where the moral basis is more fundamental in a sense that all reasonable citizens in a liberal democracy should accept, such as the constitutive role of the inviolability of human life in liberal democracies. Conclusion: There should be a legal, yet circumscribed, right to accommodation for conscientious objectors refusing to provide healthcare services that they reasonably consider to involve the intentional killing of a human being.
Clinical Ethics, May 22, 2019
Background. The public's attitudes to conscientious objection (CO) are likely to influence politi... more Background. The public's attitudes to conscientious objection (CO) are likely to influence political decisions about CO and trust towards healthcare systems and providers. Few studies examine the public's attitudes in an in-depth way. Methods. Six hypotheses about public attitudes to CO were devised and a questionnaire designed in order to test them. 1,617 Norwegian citizens completed the online questionnaire. Results. Support for toleration of CO was strongest in the case of ritual circumcision of infant boys, lower for assisted dying and abortion. Attitudes to the procedure itself negatively predicted attitudes to CO for the procedure. Respondents were more accepting of CO to performing abortion than of CO to referrals for abortion. There was stronger support for CO as an outcome of local pragmatic arrangements than for CO as a statutory right. Conclusions. Instead of viewing CO as a 'moral safety valve' or minority right which is due also to those with whom we disagree strongly, a portion of the public approaches the issue from the angle of what moral attitudes they deem acceptable to hold. The gap between this approach on the one hand and human rights principles on the other is likely to give rise to tensions in political processes whenever policies for CO are negotiated.
Medicine Health Care and Philosophy, Sep 4, 2020
Trust relations in the health services have changed from asymmetrical paternalism to symmetrical ... more Trust relations in the health services have changed from asymmetrical paternalism to symmetrical autonomy-based participation, according to a common account. The promises of personalized medicine emphasizing empowerment of the individual through active participation in managing her health, disease and well-being, is characteristic of symmetrical trust. In the influential Kantian account of autonomy, active participation in management of own health is not only an opportunity, but an obligation. Personalized medicine is made possible by the digitalization of medicine with an ensuing increased tailoring of diagnostics, treatment and prevention to the individual. The ideal is to increase wellness by minimizing the layer of interpretation and translation between relevant health information and the patient or user. Arguably, this opens for a new level of autonomy through increased participation in treatment and prevention, and by that, increased empowerment of the individual. However, the empirical realities reveal a more complicated landscape disturbed by information 'noise' and involving a number of complementary areas of expertise and technologies, hiding the source and logic of data interpretation. This has lead to calls for a return to a mild form of paternalism, allowing expertise coaching of patients and even withholding information, with patients escaping responsibility through blind or lazy trust. This is morally unacceptable, according to Kant's ideal of enlightenment, as we have a duty to take responsibility by trusting others reflexively, even as patients. Realizing the promises of personalized medicine requires a system of institutional controls of information and diagnostics, accessible for non-specialists, supported by medical expertise that can function as the accountable gate-keeper taking moral responsibility required for an active, reflexive trust.
European Journal of Human Genetics, Jan 9, 2013
In the endeavour of biobank research there is dispute concerning what type of consent and which f... more In the endeavour of biobank research there is dispute concerning what type of consent and which form of donor-biobank relationship meet high ethical standards. Up until now, a 'broad consent' model has been used in many present-day biobank projects. However it has been, by some scholars, deemed as a pragmatic, and not an acceptable ethical solution. Calls for change have been made on the basis of avoidance of paternalism, intentions to fulfil the principle of autonomy, wish for increased user participation, a questioning of the role of experts and ideas advocating reduction of top-down governance. Recently, an approach termed 'dynamic consent' has been proposed to meet such challenges. Dynamic consent uses modern communication strategies to inform, involve, offer choices and last but not the least obtain consent for every research projects based on biobank resources. At first glance dynamic consent seems appealing, and we have identified six claims of superiority of this model; claims pertaining to autonomy, information, increased engagement, control, social robustness and reciprocity. However, after closer examination, there seems to be several weaknesses with a dynamic consent approach; among others the risk of inviting people into the therapeutic misconception as well as individualizing the ethical review of research projects. When comparing the two models, broad consent still holds and can be deemed a good ethical solution for longitudinal biobank research. Nevertheless, there is potential for improvement in the broad model, and criticism can be met by adapting some of the modern communication strategies proposed in the dynamic consent approach.
Brill | mentis eBooks, Sep 9, 2011
Justice and food security in a changing climate
Animals are due respect and have intrinsic value according to the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act. H... more Animals are due respect and have intrinsic value according to the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act. However, Norwegian animal husbandry, such as salmon aquaculture, includes generally accepted practices that are contrary to an everyday understanding of 'respect' and 'intrinsic value'. A law with no connection between its letter and the actual practices it is meant to regulate, is self-undermining. In order to bridge the gap between law and ethics, we analyse the Act's use of respect and intrinsic value in light of two Kantian approaches to animal ethics to see whether they can give consistent meaning to the letter of the law and provide directions for how the law can be applied in practice regarding these concepts. We find that on the first account, the whole industry must be abolished if the letter of the Act is meant to have practical significance. On the second, fundamental reform is required.
Sustainable governance and management of food systems, 2019
Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics
This article presents an experiment in using Socratic dialogue as a methodological approach to Re... more This article presents an experiment in using Socratic dialogue as a methodological approach to Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in an interdisciplinary life sciences research project. The approach seeks to avoid imposing a set of predetermined substantive norms by engaging the researchers in knowledge-seeking group discussions. We adapted Svend Brinkmann’s method of epistemic interviewing, in order to facilitate reflection on normative issues concerning responsibility in research and innovation in two research group sessions. Two elements characterize this approach, relating it to empirical ethics methodologies: (1) the aim is not to map and analyse opinions, but to develop knowledge based on the dialogue; and (2) the facilitators of the discussion are also active participants in the dialogue rather than mere “spectators”. Through a description of the approach and discussion of some key challenges, we show the method’s potential as a supplement to the catalogue of RRI appro...
Professionals in food chains, 2018
Objective-In soccer, unintentional and intentional (heading) head impacts are associated with con... more Objective-In soccer, unintentional and intentional (heading) head impacts are associated with concussive symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. We examined whether personality traits were associated with these behaviors in soccer players. Design-Cross-sectional study.
Philosophy & Technology, 2018
This paper offers a moral history of the industrialisation of seaweed harvesting in Norway. Indus... more This paper offers a moral history of the industrialisation of seaweed harvesting in Norway. Industrialisation is often seen as degrading natural resources. We argue that it is precisely the scale and scope of industrial utilisation that can provoke non-instrumental valuations of natural resources, and that utilisation can create awareness of non-instrumental values of marine environments. We hope to nuance the common juxtaposition between industry and nature through an account of the historical emergence and transformation of values around seaweed harvesting in Norway. Seaweed became increasingly interesting to harvest as a fruit and then as a crop of the sea in the early 20 th century in Norway, following biochemical applications for alginates derived from seaweed. When harvesting was mechanised, however, regulatory attention turned to the environmental and aesthetic value of kelp forests. Further, the sale of the industry to American owners flagged the national value of these plants. In sum epistemic, aesthetic and moral appreciations of natural resources are tangled up and co-evolve with their industrial utilisation, in an ecology of values. Our account builds on historical analyses, public documents, interview and ethnographic material from key sites in Norway.
Sustainable governance and management of food systems, 2019
Interessekonflikter i forskning, 2019
Researchers are increasingly challenged to adjust to interests defined outside their own discipli... more Researchers are increasingly challenged to adjust to interests defined outside their own disciplinary boundaries. This follows from more or less explicit expectations to seek interdisciplinary collaboration and partnership within the private and public sectors. How can researchers identify and handle conflicts of interest in this situation? To answer this question, we first defend the validity of the traditional ideal of disinterested research. This ideal still provides a key guideline for identifying conflicts of interest in research: the freedom of research. This freedom should not, however, be misunderstood as disciplinary confinement or as freedom to ignore societal interests. We suggest that the crucial issue is the freedom and duty to be oriented towards the subject matter itself.
Food futures: ethics, science and culture
Food ethics and innovation, 2015
The article discusses whether there are ethically significant distinctions between different form... more The article discusses whether there are ethically significant distinctions between different forms of plant breeding. We distinguish different forms of plant breeding according to the kind of technology and degree of human intervention compared to plant reproduction occurring in nature. According to the dominant scientific view, the main concerns are issues of biosafety that are dealt with through risk assessment. Thus, the techniques are ethically equivalent and only the resulting product is of interest. In parts of the societal and philosophical discourse, however, there are attempts to distinguish ethically between these approaches, often relying on ambiguous concepts such as "naturalness". We argue that a virtue-based approach can be used to explicate the assumptions behind such distinctions that are relevant for scientific and public discourse, and support a conclusion that there are ethical differences between plant breeding methods. The framework can contribute to an improved dialogue between the scientific community and the wider public by making the scepticism towards GM-technology more intelligible.
Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række, Jan 16, 2004
BMC Medical Ethics, Oct 19, 2018
Background: In the debate on conscientious objection in healthcare, proponents of conscience righ... more Background: In the debate on conscientious objection in healthcare, proponents of conscience rights often point to the imperative to protect the health professional's moral integrity. Their opponents hold that the moral integrity argument alone can at most justify accommodation of conscientious objectors as a "moral courtesy", as the argument is insufficient to establish a general moral right to accommodation, let alone a legal right. Main text: This text draws on political philosophy in order to argue for a legal right to accommodation. The moral integrity arguments should be supplemented by the requirement to protect minority rights in liberal democracies. Citizens have a right to live in accordance with their fundamental moral convictions, and a right to equal access to employment. However, this right should not be unconditional, as that would unduly infringe on the rights of other citizens. The right must be limited to cases where the moral basis is more fundamental in a sense that all reasonable citizens in a liberal democracy should accept, such as the constitutive role of the inviolability of human life in liberal democracies. Conclusion: There should be a legal, yet circumscribed, right to accommodation for conscientious objectors refusing to provide healthcare services that they reasonably consider to involve the intentional killing of a human being.
Clinical Ethics, May 22, 2019
Background. The public's attitudes to conscientious objection (CO) are likely to influence politi... more Background. The public's attitudes to conscientious objection (CO) are likely to influence political decisions about CO and trust towards healthcare systems and providers. Few studies examine the public's attitudes in an in-depth way. Methods. Six hypotheses about public attitudes to CO were devised and a questionnaire designed in order to test them. 1,617 Norwegian citizens completed the online questionnaire. Results. Support for toleration of CO was strongest in the case of ritual circumcision of infant boys, lower for assisted dying and abortion. Attitudes to the procedure itself negatively predicted attitudes to CO for the procedure. Respondents were more accepting of CO to performing abortion than of CO to referrals for abortion. There was stronger support for CO as an outcome of local pragmatic arrangements than for CO as a statutory right. Conclusions. Instead of viewing CO as a 'moral safety valve' or minority right which is due also to those with whom we disagree strongly, a portion of the public approaches the issue from the angle of what moral attitudes they deem acceptable to hold. The gap between this approach on the one hand and human rights principles on the other is likely to give rise to tensions in political processes whenever policies for CO are negotiated.
Medicine Health Care and Philosophy, Sep 4, 2020
Trust relations in the health services have changed from asymmetrical paternalism to symmetrical ... more Trust relations in the health services have changed from asymmetrical paternalism to symmetrical autonomy-based participation, according to a common account. The promises of personalized medicine emphasizing empowerment of the individual through active participation in managing her health, disease and well-being, is characteristic of symmetrical trust. In the influential Kantian account of autonomy, active participation in management of own health is not only an opportunity, but an obligation. Personalized medicine is made possible by the digitalization of medicine with an ensuing increased tailoring of diagnostics, treatment and prevention to the individual. The ideal is to increase wellness by minimizing the layer of interpretation and translation between relevant health information and the patient or user. Arguably, this opens for a new level of autonomy through increased participation in treatment and prevention, and by that, increased empowerment of the individual. However, the empirical realities reveal a more complicated landscape disturbed by information 'noise' and involving a number of complementary areas of expertise and technologies, hiding the source and logic of data interpretation. This has lead to calls for a return to a mild form of paternalism, allowing expertise coaching of patients and even withholding information, with patients escaping responsibility through blind or lazy trust. This is morally unacceptable, according to Kant's ideal of enlightenment, as we have a duty to take responsibility by trusting others reflexively, even as patients. Realizing the promises of personalized medicine requires a system of institutional controls of information and diagnostics, accessible for non-specialists, supported by medical expertise that can function as the accountable gate-keeper taking moral responsibility required for an active, reflexive trust.
European Journal of Human Genetics, Jan 9, 2013
In the endeavour of biobank research there is dispute concerning what type of consent and which f... more In the endeavour of biobank research there is dispute concerning what type of consent and which form of donor-biobank relationship meet high ethical standards. Up until now, a 'broad consent' model has been used in many present-day biobank projects. However it has been, by some scholars, deemed as a pragmatic, and not an acceptable ethical solution. Calls for change have been made on the basis of avoidance of paternalism, intentions to fulfil the principle of autonomy, wish for increased user participation, a questioning of the role of experts and ideas advocating reduction of top-down governance. Recently, an approach termed 'dynamic consent' has been proposed to meet such challenges. Dynamic consent uses modern communication strategies to inform, involve, offer choices and last but not the least obtain consent for every research projects based on biobank resources. At first glance dynamic consent seems appealing, and we have identified six claims of superiority of this model; claims pertaining to autonomy, information, increased engagement, control, social robustness and reciprocity. However, after closer examination, there seems to be several weaknesses with a dynamic consent approach; among others the risk of inviting people into the therapeutic misconception as well as individualizing the ethical review of research projects. When comparing the two models, broad consent still holds and can be deemed a good ethical solution for longitudinal biobank research. Nevertheless, there is potential for improvement in the broad model, and criticism can be met by adapting some of the modern communication strategies proposed in the dynamic consent approach.
Brill | mentis eBooks, Sep 9, 2011
Justice and food security in a changing climate
Animals are due respect and have intrinsic value according to the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act. H... more Animals are due respect and have intrinsic value according to the Norwegian Animal Welfare Act. However, Norwegian animal husbandry, such as salmon aquaculture, includes generally accepted practices that are contrary to an everyday understanding of 'respect' and 'intrinsic value'. A law with no connection between its letter and the actual practices it is meant to regulate, is self-undermining. In order to bridge the gap between law and ethics, we analyse the Act's use of respect and intrinsic value in light of two Kantian approaches to animal ethics to see whether they can give consistent meaning to the letter of the law and provide directions for how the law can be applied in practice regarding these concepts. We find that on the first account, the whole industry must be abolished if the letter of the Act is meant to have practical significance. On the second, fundamental reform is required.
Sustainable governance and management of food systems, 2019
Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics
This article presents an experiment in using Socratic dialogue as a methodological approach to Re... more This article presents an experiment in using Socratic dialogue as a methodological approach to Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) in an interdisciplinary life sciences research project. The approach seeks to avoid imposing a set of predetermined substantive norms by engaging the researchers in knowledge-seeking group discussions. We adapted Svend Brinkmann’s method of epistemic interviewing, in order to facilitate reflection on normative issues concerning responsibility in research and innovation in two research group sessions. Two elements characterize this approach, relating it to empirical ethics methodologies: (1) the aim is not to map and analyse opinions, but to develop knowledge based on the dialogue; and (2) the facilitators of the discussion are also active participants in the dialogue rather than mere “spectators”. Through a description of the approach and discussion of some key challenges, we show the method’s potential as a supplement to the catalogue of RRI appro...
Professionals in food chains, 2018
Objective-In soccer, unintentional and intentional (heading) head impacts are associated with con... more Objective-In soccer, unintentional and intentional (heading) head impacts are associated with concussive symptoms and cognitive dysfunction. We examined whether personality traits were associated with these behaviors in soccer players. Design-Cross-sectional study.
Philosophy & Technology, 2018
This paper offers a moral history of the industrialisation of seaweed harvesting in Norway. Indus... more This paper offers a moral history of the industrialisation of seaweed harvesting in Norway. Industrialisation is often seen as degrading natural resources. We argue that it is precisely the scale and scope of industrial utilisation that can provoke non-instrumental valuations of natural resources, and that utilisation can create awareness of non-instrumental values of marine environments. We hope to nuance the common juxtaposition between industry and nature through an account of the historical emergence and transformation of values around seaweed harvesting in Norway. Seaweed became increasingly interesting to harvest as a fruit and then as a crop of the sea in the early 20 th century in Norway, following biochemical applications for alginates derived from seaweed. When harvesting was mechanised, however, regulatory attention turned to the environmental and aesthetic value of kelp forests. Further, the sale of the industry to American owners flagged the national value of these plants. In sum epistemic, aesthetic and moral appreciations of natural resources are tangled up and co-evolve with their industrial utilisation, in an ecology of values. Our account builds on historical analyses, public documents, interview and ethnographic material from key sites in Norway.
Sustainable governance and management of food systems, 2019
Interessekonflikter i forskning, 2019
Researchers are increasingly challenged to adjust to interests defined outside their own discipli... more Researchers are increasingly challenged to adjust to interests defined outside their own disciplinary boundaries. This follows from more or less explicit expectations to seek interdisciplinary collaboration and partnership within the private and public sectors. How can researchers identify and handle conflicts of interest in this situation? To answer this question, we first defend the validity of the traditional ideal of disinterested research. This ideal still provides a key guideline for identifying conflicts of interest in research: the freedom of research. This freedom should not, however, be misunderstood as disciplinary confinement or as freedom to ignore societal interests. We suggest that the crucial issue is the freedom and duty to be oriented towards the subject matter itself.
Food futures: ethics, science and culture
Food ethics and innovation, 2015
The article discusses whether there are ethically significant distinctions between different form... more The article discusses whether there are ethically significant distinctions between different forms of plant breeding. We distinguish different forms of plant breeding according to the kind of technology and degree of human intervention compared to plant reproduction occurring in nature. According to the dominant scientific view, the main concerns are issues of biosafety that are dealt with through risk assessment. Thus, the techniques are ethically equivalent and only the resulting product is of interest. In parts of the societal and philosophical discourse, however, there are attempts to distinguish ethically between these approaches, often relying on ambiguous concepts such as "naturalness". We argue that a virtue-based approach can be used to explicate the assumptions behind such distinctions that are relevant for scientific and public discourse, and support a conclusion that there are ethical differences between plant breeding methods. The framework can contribute to an improved dialogue between the scientific community and the wider public by making the scepticism towards GM-technology more intelligible.
Tidsskrift for den Norske lægeforening : tidsskrift for praktisk medicin, ny række, Jan 16, 2004
Philosophy & Technology, 2018
This paper offers a moral history of the industrialisation of seaweed harvesting in Norway. Indus... more This paper offers a moral history of the industrialisation of seaweed harvesting in Norway. Industrialisation is often seen as degrading natural resources. Ironically, we argue, it is precisely the scale and scope of industrial utilisation that may enable non-‐instrumental valuations of natural resources. We use the history of the Norwegian seaweed industry to make this point. Sea-‐weed became increasingly interesting to harvest as a fruit and then as a crop of the sea in the early 20 th century following biochemical applications for alginates derived from seaweed. When harvesting was mechanised, however, attention turned to the environmental and aesthetic value of kelp forests. Further, the sale of the industry to the American FMC corporation flagged the national value of these plants. In sum epistemic, aesthetic and moral appreciations of natural resources are tangled up and co-‐ evolve with their industrial utilisation, in an ecology of values. We use interview and ethnographic material from key sites in Norway.