An Ethical Issue from another World: Beyond the Great Divide between Us and Them
This paper addresses the question raised by the Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans, particularly as it pertains to research with Aboriginal Peoples: What does it mean to involve “other humans” in a research project when investigators and Aboriginal Peoples belong to two different cultures? What novel ethical issues arise when the investigator is incorporated in the aboriginal world? The answer to these questions follows an analysis of two accounts of ethical decisions taken by anthropologists “involved with” Aboriginal People in their world. Based on Spiro’s concepts of culture and belief the analysis sheds light on the conditions for mutual understanding between anthropologist and Aboriginal Peoples.