Chapters 7 and 8 have been noticeably different from
the previous chapters. They have set out to achieve
two broad aims. First, the chapters set out to introduce
a range of different ethical issues that arise in the developing
areas of biotechnological research. These ethical
issues sit alongside the direct, research ethics issues
as unfolding issues in the progress of research in the
21st century. Second, the cases and discussions have
included elements of the complex and difficult contemporary
relationship between science and society.
We saw at the outset of Chapter 7, from a theoretical
perspective, how ethics is (unsurprisingly) embroiled
in questions about the governance of science and its
interactions with society generally. We outlined and
then began to explore four general themes within this
relationship through the case studies.