Abstract
Developed societies are reliant on qualified education of persons in the field of science. This is part of societies’ self-understanding. Moreover, the way in which they exist depends on scientific progress. Scientific progress has brought countless products for diagnostics and therapy to the fore and made them commercially available. At the same time, modern technical methods and products impact on the biological foundations of human existence. Scientific training is not to be separated from research in universities and research institutes (postgraduate education). Rather, scientific-based culture is the cause for a growing demand for training and has, primarily in the field of applied research, brought commercialism into education and teaching. Empirical studies have shown that manifold conflicts of interest arise in medicine and continuing medical education. Such conflicts can be uncovered even when we consider bioethics in the broader sense, encompassing nutrition and the production of food and environmental and animal protection. Conflicts of interest can threaten adherence to the core values underlining academic training: objectivity, independence, and altruism. The adverse consequences of commercialism in scientific education need to be addressed through appropriate avenues: transparency, funding from independent sources and state subsidies, and the strengthening of academic virtues. Moreover, prevention of conflicts of interest situations must become part of academic education.
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Sahm, S. (2015). Commercialism in Science Education. In: ten Have, H. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_101-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-05544-2_101-1
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