Why does this not raise ethical concerns?
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/us/05hm.html?_r=1&hp
In short, this man, who I had not previously heard of, had absolutely no long term memory beyond, they say, 20 seconds - except for vague outlines of his life and certain motor skills. They did lots of studies and experiments on him.
Was his informed consent really a possible thing? Did they even ask for it? I am disturbed by the fact that this obituary doesn't really mention that. There is only the one mention of him being upset at a researcher treating him as though he weren't a person.
In short, this man, who I had not previously heard of, had absolutely no long term memory beyond, they say, 20 seconds - except for vague outlines of his life and certain motor skills. They did lots of studies and experiments on him.
Was his informed consent really a possible thing? Did they even ask for it? I am disturbed by the fact that this obituary doesn't really mention that. There is only the one mention of him being upset at a researcher treating him as though he weren't a person.