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Beyond categorisation: refining the relationship between subjects and objects in health research regulation
Catriona McMillan1, Edward Dove1, Graeme Laurie1
1School of Law, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Law, Innovation and Technology
|September 27, 2021
Summary
Health research regulation (HRR) must move beyond fixed subject-object silos to avoid objectifying participants. Processual regulation better recognizes the dynamic relationship between research subjects and objects, enhancing ethical legitimacy.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Health Law and Policy
- Sociology of Science
Background:
- Current health research regulation (HRR) often treats 'subjects' and 'objects' as separate entities.
- This separation risks objectifying research participants by neglecting their subjectivity and experiences.
- Existing regulatory frameworks may not adequately capture the complex interplay within research contexts.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critique the 'subject-object' dichotomy in health research regulation.
- To introduce the concept of liminality to understand the dynamic relationship between research participants and the research process.
- To advocate for regulatory frameworks that embrace processual regulation for enhanced ethical grounding.
Main Methods:
- Conceptual analysis deploying anthropological theories, specifically liminality.
- Critique of existing paradigms in health research regulation.
- Proposal of an alternative regulatory approach: processual regulation.
Main Results:
- The traditional separation of 'subject' and 'object' in HRR is a fallacy.
- The concept of liminality highlights the continuous transformation and interconnectedness in research.
- Processual regulation offers a more nuanced approach to understanding research relationships.
Conclusions:
- Health research regulation needs to abandon fixed subject-object silos.
- Recognizing the fluidity and interconnectedness through processual regulation strengthens ethical legitimacy.
- This approach better secures the social license for human health research.
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