Hello

"Should we favor unethical human experiments?"

Does this question require an answer?

Also, if there is some evidence that prison populations are targeted for such experiments it should be widely known. 

In conclusion, any group of human beings should not be involved in unethical research. However, I am afraid that reality may be far from this. Researchers should respect participants and reflect on the possibility that the experiments sometimes lead to physical or psychological exploitation of those willing to take part. 

Regards, Witold

Very interesting, but debatable question. Most of the time it is true,  but we should not favor such unethical experiments on human beings. 

Hello

"Should we favor unethical human experiments?"

Does this question require an answer?

Also, if there is some evidence that prison populations are targeted for such experiments it should be widely known. 

In conclusion, any group of human beings should not be involved in unethical research. However, I am afraid that reality may be far from this. Researchers should respect participants and reflect on the possibility that the experiments sometimes lead to physical or psychological exploitation of those willing to take part. 

Regards, Witold

Even, i heard of this in many unofficial news...is there any study or official news?

Philadelphia, PA

Dear Hasan & readers,

I think the question is worth thinking about in some depth, though on the face of it, it is easily answered. It is worth thinking about who might count as "prisoners," and what is meant by "unethical." I suppose that there are "unethical experiments" upon people in various circumstances, and they needn't be legally prisoners, and nor need the object of the experiment be medical. The point may require some exercise of the imagination to understand more fully.

I think you need only imagine people in relatively disadvantaged circumstances who may be subject to the power of others, known or unknown, and where the experiment is designed to find out something of use to those exercising power.

This is a generalization of the situation of the official prisoner subject to unethical medical experiment. Basically any experiments upon human beings conducted without their explicit permission are going to be ethically very doubtful to say the least. But, if the experimenters' attitude is something like, "Hey, we've got this guy where we want him (or her) let's see what we can get away with --regarding similar types," then that resembles medical experiments without permission upon prisoners.

I imagine social-political experiments in the first place. It certainly seems that this kind of thing may be facilitated by the pervasive and anonymous collection of data via the internet. Think of entrapment, or attempting to drive someone to extremes of despair or anger or frustration--just to see what happens. As a general matter, it seems that this sort of thing is now more readily feasible than it often has been in the past. Can the fellow be "radicalized" or easily driven out of competition in some other fashion? Can the viewpoint represented by the fellow be made to seem less plausible or viable?  Consider the downside of the internet. Might it facilitate scapegoating on the scale of mass communication?

H.G. Callaway