In his new book, 'For the Common Good: Philosophical Foundations of Research Ethics' (Oxford University Press), Prof Alex John London argues that there is a moral imperative to carry out research with human subjects... ... and that this imperative is grounded, in part, in the relationship between the information that research produces and the purposes of a just social order.

In this talk, Prof London will explore (1) why research ethics has been resistant to recognising such a moral imperative, (2) how orthodox research ethics eviscerates the role of justice in research oversight and (3) how the egalitarian research imperative is grounded in considerations of justice and how this reframing of research ethics should reshape the future of the field.

Alex John London is the Clara L. West Professor of Ethics and Philosophy and Director of the Center for Ethics and Policy at Carnegie Mellon University. His book, For the Common Good: Philosophical Foundations of Research Ethics is a free and open access title from Oxford University Press. He is the author of over 100 papers or book chapters that have appeared in venues such as Mind, The Philosopher’s Imprint, Science, JAMA, The Lancet as well as numerous other journals and collections.