1. Dr. David Koepsell, TPM - Philosophy
Science, Bioethics, and the Public
Principles and duties

2. Principles and Principals
• Science is a public, international, and largely
unregulated institution. To proceed properly, requires:
• Universalism
• Communalism
• Disinterestedness
• Originality
• Organized skepticism (Merton, 1942, et seq.)

3. Principles and Principals
• Scientists conduct their work by the good graces of a
willing and paying public, for the most part.
• To whom are what duties owed, and according to
what principles?
• One way of looking at it is through a principal-
agent model

4. Principles and Principals
• What does it mean to be responsible?
• Relates to the issue of moral agency (what duties
are owed by whom to whom, under what
conditions)
• Agents are generally responsible to principals, but in
economics and game theory, we note the frequent
emergence of problems….

5. Principles and Principals
• Principal-Agent problem:
• Arises where parties have differing interests and
asymmetrical information
• Difficult to motivate the agent to act in the best
interests of the principal rather than in own self-
interest.
• Often resolved through balancing and combining
interests, and more transparency in information

6. An example: The H5N1 controversy
A major international bioethical controversy arose
recently when a research group led by Ron Fouchier
from Erasmus Medical Center engineered through
selective breeding a strain of Avian Flu that appeared
to be capable of airborne transmission in tests with
ferrets.
Controversy surrounded the means by which the study
was disclosed to the scientific community and the
public.

7. An Example: The H5N1 Controversy
To whom did Fouchier owe what duty? What interests
may conflict, how can they be reconciled, and can
informational symmetry help?
One solution is to view science through the principal-
agent lens

8. An Example: The H5N1 Controversy
Because science is largely funded by the public, and the
public (through governments) can regulate its various
sub-institutions (research institutes, universities,
etc.)….
Principal --------------- Agent
Public scientists
Problem: are agents properly motivated?

9. An Example: The H5N1 Controversy
Some potentially conflicting interests and motivations
Principal Agent
___________________________________________
Basic science (no conflict) Basic Science
Utility/public health (conflict?) Utility (personal)
Security (conflict?) Publication

10. An Example: The H5N1 Controversy
• Potentially conflicting interests may have exacerbated
the effect of Fouchier’s actions
• Aligning interests and better communication could
have helped resolved them.

11. Communicating Bioethics Better-
the dual-use dilemma
• The US and Dutch governments succeeded in
portraying Fouchier’s publication as a potential security
threat, and redactions and initial censorship ensued.
• The basic science itself is potentially quite valuable to
both the principal and agent, as knowledge about such
strains can help fight them in nature if they evolve.
• HOWEVER: it looked to many like arrogant (and
possibly interested) scientists up against precautionary
states.

12. Communicating Bioethics Better –
the dual-use dilemma
The agent believes he acts in the interests of the
principal, but poorly informs the principal so that it
(the public) has a poor basis on which to agree
The agent has interests that can conflict with the
principal’s (personal utility-fame, patents, etc.; need to
publish regardless of dual use problems)
Interests can align around all of these, but only with
better communication

13. Communicating Bioethics Better-
the dual-use dilemma
Scientists have a duty, especially where basic research
and technology poses dual-use problems, to both:
1) focus on the intended good uses for principal
2) be mindful and open about potential risks and take
precautionary measures.

14. Communicating Ethics Better-
the dual-use dilemma
• Symmetrical interests and information can help resolve
when we view scientists and the public as involving a
principal-agent model.
In truth, both principal and agent have the following
interests, and both should act in concert for:
Basic science
General utility
Security

15. Thank you
References
Braun, Dietmar. "Lasting tensions in research policy-making—a delegation problem." Science and
Public Policy 30.5 (2003): 309-321.
Braun, Dietmar, and David H. Guston. "Principal-agent theory and research policy: an
introduction." Science and Public Policy 30.5 (2003): 302-308.
Peter M. Sandman, Science versus Spin: How Ron Fouchier and Other Scientists
Miscommunicated about the Bioengineered Bird Flu Controversy
http://www.psandman.com/articles/Fouchier.htm