[quote=“Medievalist, post:33, topic:13494”]
Nonetheless, the fact that around half of us can be easily coerced should never be used as an excuse for ethical failures. That’s a pretty clear moral hazard. We should all of us strive for happiness and clarity, and not accept cowardly excuses for wallowing in fear and deceit. Those doctors didn’t stand up, so they need to own their mistake and accept the consequences.[/quote]
Oh, I agree with all of that, and I wasn’t attempting to excuse their behaviour, but to explain it. What they did was wrong. Why they did it is still interesting, though, even if only as a guide as to how systems should be set up. For example, having doctors ‘inside the machine’ means they’re highly likely to be compelled to harm detainees because they start identifying with the machine (Stockholm) or start accepting everything the machine requires as legitimate (Milgram) or get carried away by the powers that the machine confers (Stanford) or … something else. The threat of physical force or harm is not necessary for compulsion to be present.
The point being that the doctors should probably be independent, and part of an independent and independently powerful chain of command. Assuming, that is, that you want to doctors to behave ethically.
