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Informed consent in research ethics: an analysis from the perspective of Luhmann’s social systems theory

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Abstract

We explore the origins and dynamics of ethical communication with reference to the requirements for informed consent provision in research ethics. We adopt the analytical framework developed in Luhmann’s social systems theory to illustrate how ethical communication about informed consent has developed in the medical, legal and scientific systems. We would like to suggest that the development of ethical communication is the result of the developing semantics of individuality and personhood. Our analysis adds specific observations about how communication about research ethics, and informed consent specifically, reduces complexity in an increasingly functionally differentiated society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Regent Court, 30 Regent Street, Sheffield, S1 4DA, UK

    Jennifer Burr

  2. Unit of Dental Public Health, School of Clinical Dentistry, Claremont Crescent, Sheffield, S10 2TA, UK

    Barry Gibson

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  1. Jennifer Burr
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  2. Barry Gibson
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Correspondence to Jennifer Burr.

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Burr, J., Gibson, B. Informed consent in research ethics: an analysis from the perspective of Luhmann’s social systems theory. Soc Theory Health 16, 241–255 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41285-017-0054-1

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