Am J Psychiatry 1977; 134:893-896
Copyright © 1977 by American Psychiatric Association
Freedom of inquiry and subjects' rights: historical perspective
DF Musto
The author presents an historical overview of the various attitudes toward
animal and human experimentation. He cites advocates (Bacon, Welch) and
opponents (Johnson, Shaw) and traces the debate from the Graeco-Roman era,
through the rise of the scientific establishment, to the present.
Controversy over the fundamental rights of individual research subjects
versus a future-oriented freedom of inquiry has been and continues to be a
dilemma for clinicians and research scientists.
