In this section we will focus on the following knowledge questions:

To what extent are the methods used in the human sciences limited by the ethical considerations involved in studying human beings?

Should key events in the historical development of the human sciences always be judged by the standards of their time?

You can also look at the following in your own time:

Do researchers have different ethical responsibilities when they are working with human subjects compared to when they are working with animals?

What are the moral implications of possessing knowledge about human behaviour?

What values determine what counts as legitimate inquiry in the human sciences? Can knowledge be divorced from the values embedded in the process of creating it?

Is the role of the human scientist only to describe what the case is or also to make judgements about what should be the case?

What moral obligations to act or not act do we have if our knowledge is tentative, incomplete or uncertain?