Statistical Sciences 9544A Ethical Principles and Statements for Statistical Consulting

Ethical Theories in Western Philosophy There are at least four major moral theories or maxims the have evolved in philosophy in the “West”: John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism Immanuel Kant’s formalism or duty ethics John Locke’s rights ethics Aristotle’s virtue ethics Reference G.C. Andrews and J.D. Kemper, Canadian Professional Engineering Practice and Ethics. No theory is entirely satisfactory but they can be used as guidelines.

John Stuart Mill The best choice in a moral dilemma is one that produces the greatest benefit for the greatest number of people. The duration and intensity of the benefit or pleasure (or the duration of pain to be avoided) and the number of people affected should be considered. Some principles of application: The benefit to oneself should not be given greater value as the same benefit for someone else. Benefits should be calculated without regard to race, creed, sex, nationality, etc. Equality of distribution of the benefits is preferable to an unequal distribution.

Example Question: Should an industry or company be allowed to pollute the environment, even though it causes harm to others? To what extent? A Utilitarian solution: It is necessary to find evaluate the harm that pollution causes and the economic benefits to be gained from the industry, and then find a balance.

Problems There is the temptation of self interest. It results, for example, in the dilemma of whether one should kill a person to save ten others related to the debate over capital punishment

Immanuel Kant Each person has a duty to follow those courses of action that would be acceptable as universal principles for everyone to follow. Maxims an action can only be considered as ethically correct if it can be accepted or made into a universal law a person should be treated as an end and not the means to achieve an end each individual should act as a member of an ideal kingdom where that individual is both the ruler and subject at the same time Results in “rules” such as: Be honest. Be fair. Do not hurt others. Keep your promises. Obey the law.

Example Maxim never treat another person solely as a means to an end. Example Run a risky medical experiment without the knowledge of the participants with the aim of benefiting thousands of other people based on the results of the experiment. Problems: It deprives the participants of their ability to make a rational choice about participation. It uses the participants as a means to some other end.

Problems Conflicts can arise when following the universal principle might lead to harm. For example, telling a “white” lie is not acceptable even if the truth causes harm.

John Locke Everyone has rights that come from their very existence as a human being. The rights of an individual must be recognized by others, who have a duty not to infringe on these rights The right to life and the right to maximum possible individual liberty are fundamental. Other rights follow as a consequence. freedom of religion freedom of thought freedom of peaceful assembly security of person equal benefit and protection before the law enjoyment of the product of his or her own labour

Examples of Locke’s Theory in Action The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Problems It is occasionally difficult to determine when one person’s rights infringe on another person’s rights.

Aristotle Aristotle proposed using the mind in accordance with virtue to live a happy life. Happiness is not physical pleasure, but harmonizing the mind with virtue. Happiness is achieved by developing virtues, or qualities of character, through deduction and reason. An act is good if it is in accordance with reason. This usually means a course of action that is the golden mean between extremes of excess and deficiency.

Example: Insider Trading The act of insider trading would violate Aristotle’s virtue ethics. Assume that integrity, trust, fairness, honesty and self-control are accepted virtues to be strived for to attain happiness. Integrity is honesty and truthfulness or accuracy of a person’s action. Giving away insider information for personal benefits does not display integrity. The inside trader breaks the trust between his business associates. The actions of the inside trader are not fair. Other investors who do not have the information are at a disadvantage. The inside trader uses information entrusted to him to benefit himself and perhaps selected associates. The inside trader is not honest with the company he works for and to whom he implicitly promised not to share inside information. If the inside trader had self-control he would not leak inside information to others for personal gain.

Problems The definition of “virtue” is occasionally vague and difficult to apply in specific cases. However the concept of seeking a golden mean between two extremes is frequently useful in ethics.

Questions for class discussion Is contributing to the R Project an ethical activity? Is copying from someone else or colluding with others to cheat on a written exam ethical? Is working together on assignments ethical? Is downloading copyrighted material from the Internet such as a complete textbook ethical? A student brought a problem to DAHS and told the consultant that the data obtained by the supervisor were confidential. The consultant recognized that a faculty member in the Department may be interested in the project. What should the consultant do? Justify your answer to each question by referring to at least one of the four philosophical approaches to ethics.

Further Question for Class Discussion Read D.B. Rubin (2002). The ethics of consulting for the tobacco industry. Statistical Methods in Medical Research. 11: 373 – 380. Can be found at http://smm.sagepub.com/content/11/5/373.full.pdf+html Questions Does Rubin’s explanation of his work follow the ethical guidelines set out by the ASA? Which one(s) of the four ethical theories do you think apply to Rubin’s explanation of his work? And in what way?

Essay Read Write an essay Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice published by the American Statistical Association https://www.amstat.org/about/pdfs/EthicalGuidelines.pdf Code of Ethical Statistical Practice by the Statistical Society of Canada http://www.ssc.ca/sites/ssc/files/data/Members/public/Accreditation/ethics_e.pdf Write an essay Compare the ethical guidelines of the ASA and the SSC. Are they the same or different? Which one(s) of the four ethical theories do you think apply to these guidelines? Give reasons for your answers.