Ethical Evaluation and Vulnerability in Chile: Knowledge Production in the Social Sciences

Abstract

In Chile, state policies have developed ethical guidelines for research, strengthening ethical-scientific committees (CECs) and fostering the creation of ethical mechanisms for project evaluation. In this essay, we reflect on the network of norms and practices that shape ethical review processes, questioning the effects of how vulnerability is conceptualized. This notion not only guides ethical evaluation but also shapes the possible frameworks for research development. Drawing on insights from critical vulnerability studies—and particularly from critical disability studies—we aim to problematize the risks of framing vulnerability as a fixed condition attributable to specific groups or individuals. When research involving subjects labeled as “vulnerable” is restricted by ethics committees on the basis of such classification, it poses a significant challenge for scientific inquiry. In the social sciences, this debate has been notably limited, potentially hindering the development of original and innovative research capable of fostering transformative change toward a more just society.