On the Importance of the Institution and Social Self in a Sociology of Conflicts of Interest

Abstract

Comment on “Toward a Sociology of Conflict of Interest in Medical Research” by Sarah Winch and Michael Sinnott, published in Journal of Bioethical Inquiry, 8(4): 389–391. In calling for a sociological analysis of conflicts of interest through a postmodern lens, Sarah Winch and Michael Sinnott open multiple avenues of inquiry. As suggested, a postmodern perspective may serve to disrupt modernist notions of objective science, pure knowledge, and human progress implied by COI policies and regulation. However, rather than following this path, I contend that modernist notions of the individual implied by COI governance require critical attention. In this brief response to the case presented, I examine the individual–institution relation in COI governance. Keywords: Primary interests, Secondary interests, Institutional interests, Social self