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Related Concept Videos

Altruism01:03

Altruism

Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
Fundamental Attribution Error01:14

Fundamental Attribution Error

According to some social psychologists, people tend to overemphasize internal factors as explanations—or attributions—for the behavior of other people. They tend to assume that the behavior of another person is a trait of that person, and to underestimate the power of the situation on the behavior of others. They tend to fail to recognize when the behavior of another is due to situational variables, and thus to the person’s state. This erroneous assumption is called the fundamental attribution...
Egoism and Altruism01:55

Egoism and Altruism

Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?
Aggression01:47

Aggression

Humans engage in aggression when they seek to cause harm or pain to another person. Aggression takes two forms depending on one’s motives: hostile or instrumental. Hostile aggression is motivated by feelings of anger with intent to cause pain; a fight in a bar with a stranger is an example of hostile aggression. In contrast, instrumental aggression is motivated by achieving a goal and does not necessarily involve intent to cause pain (Berkowitz, 1993); a contract killer who murders for hire...
Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance01:24

Primary Motives: Sleep, Sex, and Pain Avoidance

Primary motives such as sleep, sex, and pain avoidance are crucial drivers of behavior in humans and animals. These motives ensure survival, reproductive success, and overall well-being by prompting actions that meet essential bodily needs.
Sleep is a fundamental physiological drive that fosters a state of restfulness crucial for several bodily functions. It facilitates body restoration, the process by which the body repairs, rejuvenates, and maintains itself during sleep, including memory...
Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation01:21

Secondary Motives: Affiliation Motivation and Aggression Motivation

Affiliation motivation is the intrinsic desire to connect with others and belong to a social group, which plays a crucial role in forming and maintaining personal relationships. This type of motivation is essential for psychological well-being, as it provides individuals with a sense of community and support. An example of this is a student who joins a study group in order to feel a sense of connection. People with high affiliation motivation actively seek social approval, take satisfaction in...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

The Resident-intruder Paradigm: A Standardized Test for Aggression, Violence and Social Stress
09:12

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Published on: July 4, 2013

The Wrong Motives for Potentially Harming a Being.

Simon Knutsson1,2

  • 1https://ror.org/05f0yaq80Stockholm University, Sweden.

Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics : CQ : the International Journal of Healthcare Ethics Committees
|April 28, 2026
PubMed
Summary

It is morally wrong to risk harming another being for knowledge or others' well-being. Justification for potential harm, such as in research with Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), must focus on reducing suffering, not creating good.

Keywords:
C. elegansCaenorhabditis eleganscounterbalancing sufferingethicsintentionsmotivespainiencerisksentience

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Area of Science:

  • Ethics
  • Philosophy of Science
  • Animal Research Ethics

Background:

  • The ethical considerations of risking harm to other beings, particularly in scientific research, require careful examination.
  • The moral justification for using organisms like the roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) in experiments is often debated.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the moral conditions under which risking harm to another being is impermissible.
  • To analyze the role of motive and purpose in justifying the potential harm inflicted on organisms.

Main Methods:

  • Philosophical analysis of ethical principles related to risk and harm.
  • Examination of the justification for using Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) in research contexts.

Main Results:

  • Risking harm to a being is morally wrong if the purpose is to promote others' well-being or for knowledge acquisition.
  • Moral justification for harming a being must be based on mitigating significant ill-being or unpleasantness, not on achieving a purported good.

Conclusions:

  • The creation and use of beings, including C. elegans, in research is a moral issue that necessitates stringent justification.
  • Potential harm should be viewed as a regrettable necessity, with a preference for alternative methods that minimize risk and avoid sentient beings.