Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics
type: channel
description: Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics (EiP) is a scholarly journal of applied ethics and related political theory that published its first issue in November 2007 and celebrates its 20th year in November 2026. EiP aims to create a broad-based and unique journal for Nordic research within ethics. It publishes research focused on ethical, political or social aspects of scientific and technological developments within different fields, research ethics, and normative power, democracy and culture analyses. The journal provides a meeting place for applied ethics, be it within biotechnology, research, primary and secondary education, childhood, the Internet, culture, nature, business life, sports, the media, medicine, politics or elsewhere. EiP is double-blind peer-reviewed and is published open access (OA) two times per year in June and December. It is currently <a id="menura53" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://kanalregister.hkdir.no/tidsskrift?id=470904" href="https://kanalregister.hkdir.no/tidsskrift?id=470904" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Kobling level 1"> level 1 in the Norwegian scientific classification system and is indexed on <a id="menura55" class="fui-Link ___1q1shib f2hkw1w f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1s184ao f1mk8lai fnbmjn9 f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1nev41a f1h8hb77 f1lqvz6u f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" title="https://mjl.clarivate.com/search-results?issn=1890-3991&hide_exact_match_fl=true&utm_source=mjl&utm_medium=share-by-link&utm_campaign=search-results-share-these-results" href="https://mjl.clarivate.com/search-results?issn=1890-3991&hid…
publisher: NTNU Open Access Journals
language: en
publication name: Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics
issn: 1890-3991
copyright: Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
items: The role of empirical evidence in applied ethics
items: Relational autonomy, privacy, epistemic injustice, and institutional governance
items: Public Opinion on Organ Conscription and Free Riding: Results from a Norwegian Survey
items: Unjust silence: Therapeutic privilege, ethical issues and epistemic exclusion
items: Teaching military ethics as resilience – the case of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy
items: Hot topics for the 20th year of Etikk i praksis
items: Beyond Snapshots: Longitudinal Pathways and Moral Dead Ends in Military Ethics
items: Fairness in Peace Negotiations
items: Between gift and commodity: Engelhardt’s bioethical reflections on organ transplantation
items: Leder
items: Are private citizenship markets self-defeating?
items: Medisinsk overaktivitet: Hva er det, hva er de etiske problemene og hva kan vi gjøre med det?
items: Water Valuation and Weaponization
items: Dødshjelp bør legaliseres i Norge
items: Context-sensitive Dialogues
items: Constructive inquiry amidst fear and polarization
items: Editorial: Special issue on the work of Vilhjálmur Árnason
items: Vilhjálmur Árnason’s Call for Expanding Bioethical Discourse
items: A New Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge
items: Ethics of life and death: changes in the book's content – and the philosopher‘s thinking?
items: From consent to authorization
items: Ethical relations, a connecting theme in Vilhjálmur Árnason’s work on Icelandic sagas, public deliberation, and encounters between patients and professionals
items: Bør dødshjelp legaliseres i Norge? En kritisk lesning av Moen og Sterris «Aktiv dødshjelp. Etikk ved livets slutt»
items: Menstruation data: Sensitive and personal, but not mine?
items: Jet Travel and Desert
items: From harmonious altruism to contradictory feminism: an analysis of the public consultation on financial compensation for egg donation
items: Bridging the Gap Between Implementing Ethical Ideals and Practice Through Knowledge Translation
items: Privacy in a Smart City
items: Lykke og tid
items: What’s the beef with cultivated meat?

The role of empirical evidence in applied ethics
type: item
description: We invite submissions that are rich in new information to fill the gap in knowledge in applied ethics. We also encourage more explicit normative discussions of the relevance of new knowledge to persisting ethical issues and questions that threaten social justice and equity. It is important that we address threats to the professional integrity of practitioners we engage both in traditional and as well as emerging practices and technologies.
subject: Leder - Introduction
  topic: section
creator: Allen Alvarez
creator: Lars Øystein Ursin
creator: May Thorseth
creator: Erik Christensen
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Allen Alvarez, Lars Øystein Ursin, May Thorseth, Erik Christensen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-30
publication date: 2026-06-30
starting page: 1
ending page: 8
doi: 10.5324/eip.v20i1.6693

Relational autonomy, privacy, epistemic injustice, and institutional governance
type: item
description: Book review of Ho, A. (2023). Live like nobody is watching: Relational autonomy in the age of artificial intelligence health monitoring. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/med/9780197556269.001.0001
subject: Bokanmeldelse - Book Review
  topic: section
creator: Allen Alvarez
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Allen Alvarez http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-30
publication date: 2026-06-30
starting page: 57
ending page: 62
doi: 10.5324/eip.v20i1.6692

Public Opinion on Organ Conscription and Free Riding: Results from a Norwegian Survey
type: item
description: Shortage of organs for transplantation leads to reduced quality of life and premature deaths among patients on waiting lists. One proposed policy response is the conscription of cadaveric organs, whereby all suitable organs are retrieved after death. Another proposal is to restrict access to transplantation for patients who have not themselves consented to donate. The ethical acceptability of both policies remains contested, and empirical evidence on public opinion is limited. Previous surveys suggest low support for conscription. We conducted a national survey of adults in Norway (N = 1000) to investigate public attitudes towards the badness of death (reported elsewhere), the conscription of organs for transplantation, and reciprocity, understood as the acceptance to be a potential donor as necessary for being a potential recipient of organs if in need. This last question did not elicit conclusive responses. It did, however, show a correlation between responses supportive of reciprocity (i.e., against free riding) and those supportive of conscription. The results suggest a slight majority in favor of conscription in Norway. Our survey shows that belief in an afterlife corresponds negatively with acceptance of conscription, but no other demographic data are influential. Keywords: Conscription of organs; Free riding; Public opinion; Reciprocity; Solidarity.
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Bjørn Hol
creator: Mathias Barra
creator: Carl Tollef Solberg
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Bjørn Hol, Dr. Mathias Barra, Carl Tollef http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-30
publication date: 2026-06-30
starting page: 9
ending page: 22
doi: 10.5324/eip.v20i1.6603

Unjust silence: Therapeutic privilege, ethical issues and epistemic exclusion
type: item
description: Communication between healthcare professionals and patients typically concerns diagnoses, treatment options, and prognoses. In certain situations, however, not all relevant information is disclosed in order to prevent harm or to protect patient well-being. This practice is commonly referred to as therapeutic privilege. While therapeutic privilege has been widely discussed in relation to autonomy, beneficence, and non-maleficence, its implications for justice remain insufficiently explored. This article addresses this gap by examining therapeutic privilege through the lens of epistemic injustice. It argues that the selective withholding of information may undermine patients’ status as epistemic agents and thereby give rise to both hermeneutical and testimonial forms of injustice. The analysis focuses on three contexts in which such injustices arise: (1) the relationship between healthcare professionals and patients, (2) age-based differences in treatment, and (3) the role of family caregivers. Across these cases, the analysis argues that practices of information control can lead to forms of exclusion and unequal recognition. The article concludes that prevailing justifications of therapeutic privilege remain incomplete as long as they neglect considerations of epistemic injustice. The article therefore calls for greater attention to the conditions under which patients are recognized as epistemic participants within healthcare communication. Keywords: Therapeutic privilege; epistemic injustice; family caregivers; doctor-patient relationship; ageism
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Mario Kropf
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Mario Kropf http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-30
publication date: 2026-06-30
starting page: 37
ending page: 55
doi: 10.5324/eip.v20i1.6640

Teaching military ethics as resilience – the case of the Royal Norwegian Air Force Academy
type: item
description: A longitudinal perspective of military ethics highlights how a range of factors—from recruitment and selection to the cultivation of a healthy military culture—play a crucial role in building the resilience necessary to reduce the risk of moral failure in military contexts.
subject: Kommentar - Commentary
  topic: section
creator: Cornelia Vikan
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Cornelia Vikan http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-27
publication date: 2025-12-27
starting page: 53
ending page: 57
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i2.6569

Hot topics for the 20th year of Etikk i praksis
type: item
description: The Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics will celebrate its 20th year of publishing in November of the coming year 2026. In the last 10 years, the journal has published 229 articles that altogether have attracted 1.3 million views by 53,976 unique users. These articles cover around 126 discrete topics, converging methodologically on an applied ethics approach that articulates rigorous reasoning for adopting good practices, decisions or social policies. We invite researchers to contribute to this on-going discussion of questions in applied ethics by submitting their papers to the journal.
subject: Leder - Introduction
  topic: section
creator: Allen Alvarez
creator: Lars Øystein Ursin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Allen Alvarez, Lars Øystein Ursin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-27
publication date: 2025-12-27
starting page: 1
ending page: 6
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i2.6568

Beyond Snapshots: Longitudinal Pathways and Moral Dead Ends in Military Ethics
type: item
description: This article examines ethical decision-making in military contexts from a longitudinal perspective, emphasising how cumulative risk factors, protective factors, and key decision points interact over time to shape outcomes. Drawing on normative ethical theories, classical social psychology, military doctrine, and historical case studies, the discussion moves beyond traditional cross-sectional approaches to consider the temporal and sequential nature of decisions. Particular attention is given to selection, training, organisational culture, and time in combat as determinants of ethical resilience or risk factors for ‘moral dead ends’. The My Lai massacre is used as an illustrative case, visualised through a timeline that highlights the interaction of multiple contributory factors. The analysis suggests that ethical decision-making is rarely the result of isolated choices; rather, it emerges from a chain of preceding decisions and contextual influences. The study concludes by arguing that military ethics education should incorporate longitudinal analysis to better prepare leaders for the cumulative pressures of operational environments. Keywords: Military ethics, Moral dead ends, Professional military education, Ethical resilience, Virtue ethics
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: David Bergman
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 David Bergman http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-27
publication date: 2025-12-27
starting page: 39
ending page: 51
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i2.6453

Fairness in Peace Negotiations
type: item
description: How can peace negotiations be conducted in a way that is ethically viable, producing results that all parties to the negotiations will abide by and respect? This article discusses the importance of fairness in general and perceived fairness in particular as key parts of ethical and successful peace negotiations. Given the increase in protracted and brutal conflicts at the current moment in history, addressing key ethical aspects of peace negotiations is essential. Keywords: negotiations, peace, fairness, perceptions, recognition
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Henrik Syse
creator: Kristoffer Lidén
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Henrik Syse, Kristoffer Lidén http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-06-30
publication date: 2026-06-30
starting page: 23
ending page: 36
doi: 10.5324/eip.v20i1.6362

Between gift and commodity: Engelhardt’s bioethical reflections on organ transplantation
type: item
description: The global shortage of transplantable organs is becoming increasingly acute, prompting intensified debates over the ethical acceptability and feasibility of various forms of financial compensation for donors. Although organ donation in exchange for payment is legally prohibited in most countries, the prospect of a regulated market has gained support—even among some Christian bioethicists. Among the most notable proponents is H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., arguably the only Orthodox Christian bioethicist who openly contends that there is no fundamental moral objection to receiving or even requesting monetary compensation for organ donation. This article explores the ethical implications of compensated organ donation through the lens of Engelhardt’s bioethical thought, examining the reasoning and consequences of his position. It further argues that his perspective represents a personal philosophical stance rather than a reflection of the broader Orthodox theological tradition. Finally, the article underscores the need for sustained moral vigilance and ideological awareness in resisting the commodification of the human body, calling for ethical safeguards that transcend legal prohibitions. Keywords: Bioethics, Medical Ethics, Organ Transplantation, Organ Donation, H. T. Engelhardt
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Ioannis Ladas
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Ioannis Ladas http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-27
publication date: 2025-12-27
starting page: 23
ending page: 37
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i2.6369

Leder
type: item
description: Applied ethics in the Nordic context has flourished because of the enabling conditions of the different political contexts that contributors to the journal enjoy, as well as the disciplinal observance of academic virtues as critical thinking, inclusion of different perspectives, and curiosity in understanding the opposing views of others (Thorseth 2010, Alvarez 2014, Addis 1997). Diversity, pluralism and multiculturalism have proven to be conducive conditions for free knowledge to flourish and enable people with different perspectives to mutually enrich their understanding of the meaning and purpose of social and political life. Multiculturalism has been a central project of the different constellations of progressive values. Kymlicka (2025) recently reflected on an enriched definition of multiculturalism as a many-faceted approach with two main dimensions: interpersonal and political.
subject: Leder - Introduction
  topic: section
creator: Allen Alvarez
creator: May Thorseth
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Allen Alvarez, May Thorseth http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-18
publication date: 2025-06-18
starting page: 1
ending page: 5
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.6399

Are private citizenship markets self-defeating?
type: item
description: Some authors have advocated the creation of private citizenship markets, whereby individual citizens would be allowed to sell their citizenship to foreigners. There seems to be an inherent contradiction in this proposal. On the one hand, the right to sell citizenship presupposes the state’s right to exclude foreigners from citizenship, which, in turn, is grounded in citizens’ right to collective self-determination. On the other hand, private citizenship markets, by allowing each citizen to unilaterally decide on the admission of new members, would sidestep the democratic process by which members of the political community define who the collective is. This violates citizens’ right to collective self-determination, and therefore undermines the state’s right to exclude. This article aims to rescue private citizenship markets from the ‘self-defeating’ objection. In short, it argues that private citizenship markets do not necessarily violate citizens’ right to collective self-determination because they do not privatize the state’s right to exclude, but only its right to include. As long as the selling of citizenship by individual members of society is legally sanctioned by the state, it does not violate citizens’ right to collective self-determination, and therefore does not undermine the state’s right to exclude, any more than family reunification does. If anything, the objection shows that the right to exclude is not absolute, not that the privatization of the right to include undermines it. The argument has important implications for other cases of unilateral inclusion, especially sham marriages. Keywords: immigration; selling citizenship; private citizenship markets; right to include; right to exclude; self-determination.
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Borja Niño Arnaiz
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Borja Niño Arnaiz http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-27
publication date: 2025-12-27
starting page: 7
ending page: 21
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i2.5968

Medisinsk overaktivitet: Hva er det, hva er de etiske problemene og hva kan vi gjøre med det?
type: item
description: Medisinsk overaktivitet er dokumentert på en rekke områder, og beslaglegger betydelige ressurser. Denne artikkelen forsøker å besvare fire spørsmål: 1) Hva er medisinsk overaktivitet? 2) Hva er de etiske aspektene ved overaktivitet? 3) Hva er mekanismene bak og driverne for medisinsk overaktivitet? 4) Hva kan gjøres for å redusere uønsket medisinsk overaktivitet? Felles for medisinsk overaktivitet er at aktiviteten ikke er nødvendig eller berettiget ut fra et moralsk mål om å være mer til nytte enn skade og redusere lidelse. Medisinsk overaktivitet mangler derved en moralsk begrunnelse og bryter med alle de fire prinsippene i biomedisinsk etikk, men også spesifikt med konsekvensetikk og pliktetikk. Det finnes en rekke mekanismer bak og drivere for medisinsk overaktivitet, som peker mot angrepspunkter og strategier for å redusere medisinsk overaktivitet. En overordnet strategi er å sikre at medisinsk aktivitet direkte kan knyttes til det moralske mål om å redusere individers smerte, funksjonstap og lidelse. Reduksjon av overaktivitet er sentralt for å bevare medisinens moralske begrunnelse, men også kvalitet på tjenestene, pasientsikkerhet, tillit til medisinen og en bærekraftig helsetjeneste. Nøkkelord: overaktivitet, overdiagnostikk, overundersøkelse, overbehandling, sykdomssalg English title: Medical overactivity: What is it, what are the ethical issues and what can we do about it? English summary: Medical overactivity has been documented in a number of areas and consumes considerable resources. This article attempts to answer four questions: 1) What is medical overactivity? 2) What are the ethical aspects of overactivity? 3) What are the mechanisms behind and drivers of medical overactivity? 4) What can be done to reduce unwanted medical overactivity? What all medical overactivity has in common is that it is not necessary or justified in terms of a moral goal of reducing a person's pain, dysfunction or suffering. Medical overactivity thus lacks a moral justificat…
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Bjørn Hofmann
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Bjørn Hofmann http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-18
publication date: 2025-06-18
starting page: 25
ending page: 43
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.6290

Water Valuation and Weaponization
type: item
description: The article discovers the multiple values of water as a key element of the Biosphere and a vital natural resource that sustains the equilibrium of the global ecosystem and human well-being. Different approaches to classifying and justifying values and various interpretations of the concepts of intrinsic, instrumental, and relational values in the context of the valuation of water are considered. Values are important for the efficient sustaining, management, and protection of water and water-related ecosystems globally and locally, and just access to water resources. Understanding the role of values and their respect or neglect is crucial in times of crisis, wars, and other conflicts that affect water. By accepting the consensus about three main classes of values (intrinsic, instrumental, and relational), water weaponization, and referring to some facts of the current Russo-Ukrainian war, it is shown that military actions exacerbate most of the challenges to environmental sustainability and human life. War also aggravates the conflict between water values. Water weaponization is considered one of the forms of instrumentalization of water that has multifaceted negative impacts on the environment, human rights to water, and human welfare. It is concluded that the way to reduce the negative environmental, economic, social, humanitarian, and cultural consequences of the weaponization of water is to stop the Russian aggression in Ukraine as soon as possible. Keywords: water and water-related resources, values, Russo-Ukrainian war, water weaponization.
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Tetiana Gardashuk
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Tetiana Gardashuk http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-18
publication date: 2025-06-18
starting page: 45
ending page: 57
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.6281

Dødshjelp bør legaliseres i Norge
type: item
description: I boken Aktiv dødshjelp - etikk ved livets slutt (2019) tar vi til orde for at vi bør legalisere dødshjelp i Norge. Personer som lider uutholdelig, ikke har utsikter til bedring og har tatt et kompetent, konsistent og ikke presset valg om å avslutte livet, bør bli tilbudt hjelp til å en trygg, skånsom og verdig måte. I artikkelen "Bør dødshjelp legaliseres i Norge?" kritiserer Morten Magelssen argumentasjonen i vår bok. Han er ikke den første til å kritisere oss. Vi har tidligere svart på Lars Johan Materstvedts (2022) kritikk av boken (Sterri og Moen 2023). I denne artikkelen svarer vi på Magelssens kritikk. Magelssen skriver at han har to formål med artikkelen. I tillegg til å ville vise hvor vår argumentasjon kommer til kort, vil han også demonstrere hvordan en ny fremgangsmåte for å diskutere dødshjelp. Vi vil begynne med å diskutere Magelssens metode.
subject: Kommentar - Commentary
  topic: section
creator: Aksel Braanen Sterri
creator: Ole Martin Moen
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Aksel Braanen Sterri, Ole Martin Moen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-04-13
publication date: 2025-04-13
starting page: 95
ending page: 103
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.6323

Context-sensitive Dialogues
type: item
description: This article reflects on the central themes of Vilhjálmur Árnason's work, particularly his focus on contextualized morality and dialogical ethics. Vilhjálmur emphasizes the importance of balancing individual freedom and responsibility with an understanding of social and political contexts. By examining relational ethics across healthcare, research, and public health, the article highlights his contributions to bioethics, including concepts like informed consent, scientific citizenship, and authorization in biobank research. Vilhjálmur1 advocates for communicative reasoning and authentic dialogue as essential tools for ethical analysis, situational decision-making, and fostering trust in research and healthcare practices. The work underscores the importance of trustworthiness, veracity, and participatory engagement in addressing modern ethical challenges, particularly in rapidly advancing biotechnologies. Keywords: Contextual ethics, dialogical ethics, relational autonomy, informed consent, authorization, bioethics, trustworthiness, communicative reasoning, healthcare ethics, public health ethics, scientific citizenship, biobank research
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Vilhjalmur Arnason
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Vilhjalmur Arnason http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-27
publication date: 2024-12-27
starting page: 61
ending page: 72
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.6280

Constructive inquiry amidst fear and polarization
type: item
subject: Leder - Introduction
  topic: section
creator: Allen Alvarez
creator: May Thorseth
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Allen Alvarez, May Thorseth http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-27
publication date: 2024-12-27
starting page: 7
ending page: 10
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.6279

Editorial: Special issue on the work of Vilhjálmur Árnason
type: item
description: The editorial introduces the rationale for putting together the special issue on the works of Vilhjalmur Arnason, discusses some of the main themes of his corpus and gives and overview of the published commentaries.
subject: Leder - Introduction
  topic: section
creator: Kadri Simm
creator: Bjørn Hofmann
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Kadri Simm, Bjørn Hofmann http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-27
publication date: 2024-12-27
starting page: 1
ending page: 5
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.6277

Vilhjálmur Árnason’s Call for Expanding Bioethical Discourse
type: item
description: This article explores Vilhjálmur Árnason’s critique of contemporary bioethics, particularly its limited focus on individualistic principles, and its neglect of the broader social implications of emerging technologies. Vilhjálmur1 argues that the commonly used “four principles approach”—respect for autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, and justice—is inadequate for addressing the complex ethical and societal impacts of new technologies. He suggests that ethical evaluations must extend beyond immediate individual risks to consider broader societal consequences. In critiquing overly individual-centered bioethical frameworks, Vilhjálmur raises a critical theoretical question: what kind of ethical theory does bioethics truly require? This examination considers whether Vilhjálmur’s critique of the four-principles approach is justified and whether a more expansive ethical framework or theory of value is needed to specify and rank bioethical principles. By scrutinizing collective values like solidarity and the notion that “the personal is political” this paper suggests that new layers of disagreement arise, moving beyond traditional debates over moral theories. In a diverse society with conflicting values, such conflicts may be unavoidable. However, by highlighting the interconnection between individual moral agency and socio-political context, Vilhjálmur underscores the importance of self-reflection on personal values and the need to seek understanding across differing viewpoints in bioethical discussions. Keywords: bioethics, personalized medicine, genetic database, four-principles approach, principlism, pluralism, value, ethical theory, personal is political, socio-political context
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Margit Sutrop
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Margit Sutrop http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-27
publication date: 2024-12-27
starting page: 11
ending page: 21
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.6193

A New Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge
type: item
description: Among the most contentious practices within a globalized and corporatized economy is allegations of so-called ‘biopiracy’. This refers to the taking of genetic resources and associated traditional knowledge without either free, prior and informed consent or any mechanisms for benefit-sharing with the community that provided the resource. Attempts to revise the TRIPS Agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) to bring it more in compliance with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) have not led to concrete results. The article analyzes CBD provisions, binding protocols and non-binding guiding documents, and two less known treaties of the United Nations. The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), that joined the United Nations in 1974, has – after negotiating for almost 15 years – adopted the WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Traditional Knowledge. The article demonstrates how this WIPO Treaty is embedded in the ‘defensive strategy’ of traditional knowledge protection, enabling patent examiners to reject a patent as the alleged invention does not represent new and applicable knowledge. The alternative, termed ‘positive strategy’, is witnessed primarily in India’s Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights Act, which has resulted in more grants of certificates for so-called ‘farmers’ varieties’ compared to all other varieties together. Other United Nations treaties include elements of such protection, but not on the level of specify and subsequent implementation as found in India. The negotiations of what became the WIPO Treaty has generated increased awareness of indigenous peoples’ traditional knowledge and should be easy to ratify as it aligns with existing legislation. Keywords: India’s Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights Act, traditional knowledge, TRIPS Agreement (Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights), WIPO Treaty on Intellectual Property, Genetic Resources and Associated Tradition…
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Hans Morten Haugen
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Hans Morten Haugen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-18
publication date: 2025-06-18
starting page: 59
ending page: 76
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.5917

Ethics of life and death: changes in the book's content – and the philosopher‘s thinking?
type: item
description: Over the last four decades, Vilhjálmur Árnason professor emeritus in philosophy, has been at the forefront in the academic fields of moral and political philosophy, and medical – and bioethics in Iceland. His research and in-depth understanding of the ethical aspects of medicine and life sciences in Icelandic society are demonstrated by his extensive written work on these issues. In 1993, the first edition of his book Ethics of life and death was published in Iceland, a comprehensive book on ethical issues related to healthcare, research, and public health. A second and improved edition of the book was published in 2003, and a German version in 2004. The third and latest edition was published in August 2023, which takes into account developments in the aforementioned fields in recent years, and as before with a particular focus on Iceland. The contents of this influential book will be discussed in this article, with special emphasis on comparing current subjects with previous editions. Moreover, it will be addressed if and how Árnason‘s thinking and perspective have changed over the years.
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Svava Sigurdardottir
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Svava Sigurdardottir http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-27
publication date: 2024-12-27
starting page: 49
ending page: 59
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.5956

From consent to authorization
type: item
description: The turn from traditional paternalism and towards patient autonomy has made informed consent a key concept for medical ethics and health legislation. However, informed consent has been attacked for a wide range of shortcomings, both conceptually and theoretically, as well as practically. Vilhjálmur Árnason has suggested an alternative to informed consent, i.e., to give authorizations. Vilhjálmur1 has been supported by other researchers, but the authorization approach has not been elaborated in any greater detail or come to widespread use in bioethics. This article describes and discusses Vilhjálmur’s and other scholars’ approach to authorizations and reflects on why this approach deserves more attention than previously given, especially for addressing the extended challenges emerging from biological sciences generating a wide range of person-related biological entities. Keywords: informed consent, authorization, bioethics, medical ethics, patient autonomy, biobank research, dynamic consent, broad consent, genetic research ethics, ethical challenges in biobanking, , PeRBEs, AI/ML
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Bjørn Hofmann
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Bjørn Hofmann http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-27
publication date: 2024-12-27
starting page: 35
ending page: 47
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.5965

Ethical relations, a connecting theme in Vilhjálmur Árnason’s work on Icelandic sagas, public deliberation, and encounters between patients and professionals
type: item
description: This paper will explore two strands of Vilhjálmur Árnason’s extensive body of work: his analysis of dialogue ethics within medical ethics and his analysis of ethics in the Icelandic sagas. The central thesis is that combining these two strands, bioethics and literary analysis, can provide valuable insights to further the discussion of ethics among citizens in multicultural communities. Vilhjálmur’s1 analysis of the Icelandic sagas shows that the sagas have a specific value foundation, specific virtues as well as narrative in how to present the ethical aspects. In the field of bioethics, he has developed the study of dialogue ethics in several aspects, such as between patient and professional, in interdisciplinary research, and in public deliberation. By integrating insights from historic literary studies with contemporary bioethical research we gain an interesting platform for a discussion on Western assumptions of what constitutes a good dialogue. One of the core aspects in dialogue ethics is how to develop the procedure for a fair, open-minded, and oppression-free discussion in ethical issues. Vilhjálmur’s contributions are summarized here, but could they also be extended beyond the Icelandic and Western horizon? I will compare his ethical framework to a recent parallel discussion on the claims of indigenous peoples for a fair dialogue. That is, a dialogue that must be inclusive with a carefulness about deciding the foundation of inherent values and the procedure of how to perform the dialogue. Finally, I draw conclusions on what dialogue ethics will gain from this explorative work. Keywords: dialogue ethics, one health approaches, Indigenous peoples, bioethics, interdisciplinarity, ethics in the Icelandic sagas, medical ethics, literary analysis, multicultural communities
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Henrik Lerner
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Henrik Lerner http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-27
publication date: 2024-12-27
starting page: 23
ending page: 34
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.5954

Bør dødshjelp legaliseres i Norge? En kritisk lesning av Moen og Sterris «Aktiv dødshjelp. Etikk ved livets slutt»
type: item
description: Ole Martin Moen og Aksel Braanen Sterris bok «Aktiv dødshjelp. Etikk ved livets slutt» er den beste og grundigste argumentasjonen på norsk for legalisering av dødshjelp til nå. Denne artikkelen er basert på en kritisk lesning av boken. Kritikken struktureres av fem tematiske «spor» som dødshjelpsdebatten gjerne følger. Jeg argumenterer for at Moen og Sterri ikke har lagt tilstrekkelig vekt på den moralske betydningen av selve dødshjelpshandlingen. Argumentet om at legalisering av dødshjelp kan legge «press på de svake» er et enda sterkere argument enn hva forfatterne får frem. Adgang til dødshjelp kan true profesjonsetiske holdninger nødvendige for lege-pasientrelasjonen. Ved god palliasjon samt klok praktisering av behandlingsbegrensning kan det opplevde behovet for dødshjelp reduseres sterkt. Til sist er det svakheter ved den konkrete modellen for legalisering som Moen og Sterri foreslår; modellen ligger tett opp mot det nederlandske systemet, og er dermed sårbar for innvendinger mot dette.
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Morten Magelssen
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Morten Magelssen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-04-13
publication date: 2025-04-13
starting page: 7
ending page: 24
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.5990

Menstruation data: Sensitive and personal, but not mine?
type: item
description: The proper nature of the relationship between people and their personal data is yet to be determined. Are personal data trivial to us like a piece of clothing, or more intimate and personal, like our thoughts and feelings? Does it matter how we view this relation? In this article, we present a philosophical critique of the unownability approach to personal data and outline some of its shortcomings. Menstruation data is an example of a particularly sensitive and personal type of data, and we argue that such data should be recognized as personal property, belonging to the data subject. In the following, we start by displaying how and why personal data ownership becomes such an intricate issue and conclude by suggesting that the personhood theory of ownership can provide a foundation for moral ownership, where other theories fall short. Keywords: Data ownership, Privacy, Ethics, Personhood, Alienation
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Kamilla Østerberg
creator: Lars Ursin
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Kamilla Østerberg, Lars Ursin http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-18
publication date: 2025-06-18
starting page: 77
ending page: 94
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.5875

Jet Travel and Desert
type: item
description: Jet aircraft produce large quantities of greenhouse gases when in operation, so one way for an agent to reduce her individual greenhouse gas emissions is by reducing the extent to which she flies. Some groups have encouraged agents to give up on flying for life by committing to a “travel pledge”. I argue here that, for many agents, it is morally impermissible to commit to a lifelong travel pledge, because in doing so, they would prevent themselves from receiving what they deserve. Most agents who commit to such a pledge exercise a great deal of virtue, and therefore deserve to have their lives go better, while also making a significant sacrifice, thus ensuring that their lives go worse. Because a single person’s travel pledge cannot make a significant difference to the progress of climate change, the morally desirable effects of such a pledge are outweighed by the morally undesirable effects on desert. Keywords: climate change; flight; travel; desert; altruism
subject: Åpen del - Open section
  topic: section
creator: Sean Clancy
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Sean Clancy http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-11-24
publication date: 2024-11-24
starting page: 85
ending page: 99
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.5914

From harmonious altruism to contradictory feminism: an analysis of the public consultation on financial compensation for egg donation
type: item
description: After the revision of the Biotechnology Act in May 2020, egg donation in Norway became a reality. In the wake of the ‘biotechnology agreement’ – a result of the coalition between Ap (the Norwegian Labour party), Frp (the Progress Party) and SV (the Socialist Left Party) to secure a parliamentary majority for changes in the law – the amount of compensation was to be determined for women who wish to donate eggs. A public consultation was therefore held on the guidelines for egg donation, including alternatives for how much the donor should be financially compensated. In this article, I have analysed the consultation draft, the consultation responses and the final guidelines for compensation for egg donation. The purpose of the study was to examine the various arguments in the Norwegian debate about financial compensation for egg donation. Three recurring themes were identified in the consultation documents: the form and content of the motivation, fairness and donor store. A key finding in the consultation was a recurring concern about financially motivated donation. There was also broad agreement that egg donation should be altruistic. Altruism was understood as an absence of financial motivation on the part of the donor, but without other non-altruistic motives being problematised or the prerequisites for altruism being further discussed. The analysis also showed how similar arguments were framed differently in order to support both higher and lower compensation. For example, an emphasis on women's rights in some consultation responses ended up as a defence for the higher compensation proposed, while in other consultation responses it was used as an argument for a ban on any form of compensation. Overall, this study provides insight into the diversity of arguments that have been used in the Norwegian debate on financial compensation for egg donation, and it shows the importance of defining the relevant concepts – such as altruism, voluntariness and financial motivati…
subject: Oversettelse - Translation
  topic: section
creator: Joar Røkke Fystro
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Joar Røkke Fystro http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-06-18
publication date: 2025-06-18
starting page: 105
ending page: 119
doi: 10.5324/eip.v19i1.5918

Bridging the Gap Between Implementing Ethical Ideals and Practice Through Knowledge Translation
type: item
subject: Leder - Introduction
  topic: section
creator: Allen Alvarez
creator: May Thorseth
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Allen Alvarez http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-06-10
publication date: 2024-06-10
starting page: 1
ending page: 4
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i1.5909

Privacy in a Smart City
type: item
description: An increasing number of cities around the globe aim to become Smart Cities through the implementation of a range of Information and Communication technologies (ICT), AI applications and cloud-based IoT solutions. While the underlying motivations vary, all such transitions require large amounts of data. In this paper, we articulate and defend two claims about privacy in a Smart City. Our first claim is that some level of systematic data collection and processing is ethically permissible. However, there is an upper limit for what is permissible: We suggest that it is never permissible to collect and process data that significantly undermine people’s autonomy. Our second claim specifies when such minor privacy infringements that do not significantly undermine people’s autonomy are permissible: We suggest that the only policies legitimized by the first claim are those that promote the collective good. Keywords: smart city, privacy, autonomy, natural right, collective good
subject: Artikler - Articles
  topic: section
creator: Martin Peterson
creator: Barbro Fröding
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Martin Peterson, Barbro Fröding http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-05-28
publication date: 2024-05-28
starting page: 49
ending page: 63
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i1.5572

Lykke og tid
type: item
subject: Bokanmeldelse - Book Review
  topic: section
creator: Espen Lauritzen
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Espen Lauritzen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-06-10
publication date: 2024-06-10
starting page: 83
ending page: 91
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i1.5865

What’s the beef with cultivated meat?
type: item
description: Artificially cultivated meat may have environmental benefits and harm-reductive capabilities, making it crucial to establishing ethical food production practices. However, we argue that salient factors make producing and consuming artificially cultivated meat morally problematic. We detail some of these factors and highlight their roots in different ethical traditions. These factors present serious challenges to the moral permissibility of its production and consumption. We conclude that artificially cultivated meat is unlikely to be the best solution to today’s unethical food production practices. Keywords: cultivated meat, lab-grown meat, vegetarianism, animal rights, ethics
subject: Åpen del - Open section
  topic: section
creator: Henrik Andersson
creator: Andrés Garcia
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Henrik Andersson, Andrés Garcia http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-09-02
publication date: 2024-09-02
starting page: 73
ending page: 84
doi: 10.5324/eip.v18i2.5099