Values in Pharmacology

Abstract

Examples from pharmacology are often used in discussions on the role of values in science. This contribution provides an account of the various types of values that have an influence in pharmacology. Furthermore, a criterion is proposed to distinguish between legitimate and illegitimate influence of non-epistemic values in pharmacological science. According to this proposal, practical considerations may not legitimately lower the demands of evidence for scientific claims, but they may legitimately raise them. It is argued that the latter type of influence from values is common in pharmacology. This is because the demands of evidence for the safety and efficacy of drugs for human use typically exceed the level of evidence usually required when nothing more than the risk of erroneous scientific beliefs is at stake.