Objectivity in journals on medical ethics

Exhibiting your personal opinion without fear or favour is one of the most important principles in the review of medical ethics

While reading several editions of Issues in Medical Ethics, I noticed that most articles are clearly written from a personal view. Most contributors do not seek shelter in objectivity or refer to authorities on the matter, which is common in the ‘scientific’ journals.

It seems to me that the main objective of a journal on medical ethics is to extend your own opinion by reading others, rather than to obtain objectivity. Of course one has to obtain objectivity concerning the factual situation, but, as a matter of fact, moral objectivity is not always realisable. Thus, argumentation may be your only tool to reach agreement and, as I noticed in Issues in Medical Ethics, this tool can be very thought-provoking.