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Notes Bioethics

This document provides an introduction to bioethics by defining ethics and bioethics. It discusses several key ethical schools of thought and their application to issues in bioethics. The main ethical approaches discussed are utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, situation ethics, and ethical relativism. The document aims to outline the fundamental concepts and theories in bioethics.

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stephanie serdoncillo
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26 views

Notes Bioethics

This document provides an introduction to bioethics by defining ethics and bioethics. It discusses several key ethical schools of thought and their application to issues in bioethics. The main ethical approaches discussed are utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, situation ethics, and ethical relativism. The document aims to outline the fundamental concepts and theories in bioethics.

Uploaded by

stephanie serdoncillo
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Introduction to Bioethics

Definition of Ethics

 Ethics is deduced from the Greek word ethos, meaning “customs" or “behaviors".
 Behavior is more attributed to human behavior and is therefore inherent to human beings.
 The term ethos has an equivalent meaning in Latin word moris which means “morals".
 Ethics is not to be understood as specific to t nation but rather as inherent human

Definition of Ethics

Ethics is a mental-set, disposition or values.

Ethics is defined as:

 As a science, it deals with the morality (rightness or wrongness) of the human act.
 As a discipline, it is meant for the exercise of a human conduct, both ethical and unethical.
 As a philosophical study, it guides the intellect in discerning concrete human conduct.
 Ethics, when combined with the prefix bio, becomes Bioethics, a discipline that covers all life
sciences
 Ethics in medicine is not something new. Indeed because both medicine and ethics aim at the
overall well-being of persons, they are intrinsically connected. Though medicine concentrated
more on the physiological and psychological well-being of the patient, it did not abstract from,
or ignore the social and creative aspect of the patient. Good physiological function usually made
it possible for a person to pursue the other goods of life which lead to human fulfilment.

Bioethics as Applied Ethics

 It is an ethics of medical care, but not the same as medical ethics.


 Bioethics investigates practices and developments in the life sciences and biomedical fields
 All pertinent fields of study must be pooled together in an attempt to settle certain moral
dilemmas

Importance of Bioethics

 It is necessary for the conduct of appropriate and judicious healthcare procedure


 It is necessary in providing humanistic care to clients
 It is necessary to grasp the ethical dimension of medical procedures.
 It is necessary to practice bioethis because of authority given by the population.

Ethical Schools of thought (Part A)

Ethical Relativism

 This ethical doctrine claims there are no universal or absolute moral principles.
 Standard of right and wrong are always relative to a particular culture or society.
 Sometimes, morality is based on someone’s moral opinion of a certain matter.
Strength of ethical relativism:

 To the moral relativist, one would be considered too ambitious in claiming that one knows
absolute and objective ethical principles that are true.

Criticism and objection:

 Ethical relativism contradicts common beliefs and ordinary experiences in several ways.
 It removes the essence of one’s duty in determining whether an act is right or wrong.
 Ethical relativism is a contradiction in itself.

Situation Ethics

 Moral norms depend upon a given situation, but whatever situation maybe, one must act in the
name of Christian love.
 Three type of love exist: eros, philia and agape.
 Six propositions:
- Only love is intrinsically good
- Ultimate norm of Christian decision is love
- Love and are the same justice is love distributed
- Love wills the neighbor’s good whether we like him or not.
- Only the end justifies the means.
- Decision ought to be made situationally, not prescriptively.
 Situation ethics makes moral decision flexible and adaptable to varying situations.
 Agapeic love serves to check selfish motive as sell as uncaring health personnel, no filial or erotic
considerations.
 Contextualism may encourage ethical relativism. This may be used to justify the ends to which a
medical procedure is perfoprmed.

Pragmatism

 Attributed to Charles Peirce and Wiliam James, American philosophers.


 The most valid form of knowledge is one which is practical, workable, beneficial.
 If an idea can be operationalized in the most practical and beneficial way, it is true.
 Truth is a part of experience that can provide workable guides to practical behavior.
 Pragmatism took on many forms: experimentalism and instrumentalism.
 For one to learn, one must reconstruct human experiences and relate them to one’s own.
 Difficulties:
 Pragmatism is materialistic.
 Pragmatism is too individualistic.

Utilitarianism

 Proponents of this school of thought are Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill.
 Rightness and wrongness of ethical actions is determined by the goodness or badness of their
consequences.
 The principle of utility is the only one principle worth noting
 “Actions are good insofar as they tend to promote happiness, bad as they produce unhappiness.
 No action seems to be intrinsically right or intrinsically wrong.
 We ought to choose the action that produces the most benefits at the least cost of pain or
unhappiness.
 The principle of greatest happiness: the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number
of people.
 The more people that will benefit form a better moral decision, the better.

Ethical Schools of Thought (Part B)

Kan’t Ethics

 Established by Immanuel Kant, a German thinker.


 First appeared in his work, “Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals.”
 Kantian ethics focuses on duty of obligation (deontologism/intuitionism).
 Morality is exclusively within the human personality
 Morality is a matter of intent, motive and will.
 Kant maintains that one acts morally if and only one does whatever one is obliged to do.
 Act done in accord with duty and act done from a sense of duty; non-moral acts are those who
do not have a moral sense.
 Categorical imperative implies that an action be done irrespective of the results.
 Act only on the maximum which you can at the same time, will to become a universal law.
 Humans should be treated as an end and not as a mean
 Formula of Autonomy
 Kingdom of Ends
 Two types of duties exist: perfect and imperfect.
 The concept of autonomous will.
 Difficulties include:
- Conflicting duties
- Categories imperatives fail to establish duties
- Conflict with the concept of human beings.

Ross’ Ethics

 Established by William David Ross, an Aristotelain philosopher.


 Rightness of action is not determined by its consequences
 Ross viewed deontology as rigid and insensitive in some cases.
 Moreover, deontological precepts sometimes conflict each other.
 Ross believe in moral rules, however he postulated that it should not be absolute or inflexible.
 Moral rules serve only as guidelines
 Absolute rules are often insensitive to the consequences of an act.
 Rightness and goodness are the only moral properties.
 Nonmoral properties need to be ascertained (why/what)
 The concept of actual duty and prima facie duty.
 Act in accordance with the stronger, more stringent or more severe prima facie duty.
 Act in accordance with the prima facie duty which has a greater balance of rightness over
wrongness.
 Only one is a prima facie duty
 Ross’ ethics relies more on moral intuitions.

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