Question: what are ethics?

Anna Middleton answered on 12 Mar 2014:

Hi @jackthehat8
‘ethics’ is the study of the imact of something on people. For example I look at the principles of ‘doing good’ or ‘doing harm’ through the use of genetics. You might assume it was a good thing to have your genes tested to see if you have a chance of getting a serious, life-threatening condition. Some people feel very strongly that would want to know this sort of thing so that they could plan ahead in their lives and do everything they could to prevent the condition happening. Others feel that they would worry too much if they knew there was a high chance of them getting ill – they wouldn’t sleep they wouldn’t function properly. It’s important to understand how people cope with this sort of information so that hospitals know what sort of tests to make available to people.