Ethics L1 &2

Introduction to Ethics and Ethical Theories

• Course title: Introduction to Ethics and Ethical Theories
• Instructor: Dr. Lamis Nader, Assistant Professor
• Date: January 15, 2025

Objectives

• Define ethics and morals
• Differentiate between ethics and morals
• Identify ethical theories
• Explain concepts of moral norms, meta-ethics, descriptive ethics, utilitarianism, hedonism, and ethical relativism

Ethics

• Ethics refers to standards of conduct indicating how one should behave based on duties and virtues derived from principles of right and wrong.
• Ethics is a branch of philosophy seeking to understand the nature of right and wrong.
• Ask yourself: "Should this be done?" and "How can it be done in the right way?"
• Biotechnology raises ethical concerns regarding professional integrity, data handling, human subjects in research, and the application of new techniques (e.g., gene manipulation, stem cell treatment, cloning).

Bioethics

• Bioethics deals with the ethical implications of biological research and applications, specifically in biomedicine.
• Considers social and moral aspects and potential outcomes of biological and medical techniques.
• Includes the study of right and wrong regarding new discoveries/techniques in biology, such as genetic engineering, organ transplantation, and abortion.

What is Ethics?

• Justified principles and values
• Convincing arguments
• Values appealing outside one's group or nation
• Character and virtues producing trust

What Ethics Is Not

• Personal beliefs
• Results of polls and surveys
• Laws (but must be obeyed)
• Religious beliefs

Why Study Ethics?

• Many harmed by lack of attention to ethics
• Law requires it; ethics leads the law
• Ethics helps in the afterlife
• Ethics provides a stable society
• Ethics makes one more successful
• Ethics cultivates inner peace

Ethics is Important

• Ethics helps distinguish right from wrong and understand why and on what grounds judgments of human actions are justified.

Morality

• Differentiates intentions, decisions, and actions as proper or improper.
• Distinction between right and wrong
• Derived from philosophy, religion, culture, or personal beliefs

Where Does Morality Come From?

• Parents
• Religion
• Peers
• Technology

Ethics and Morality

• Often used interchangeably in casual conversation
• Distinctions exist in philosophy.

Difference Between Ethics and Morals

• Ethics: Rules of conduct for a particular class of actions or group
• Morals: Habits for right/wrong conduct; personal compass of right/wrong
• Ethics: Social system, external
• Morals: Internal

Why Do We Follow?

• Ethics: Society dictates what is right
• Morals: Personal belief in what is right/wrong

Flexibility

• Ethics: Dependent on others for definition; tends to be consistent within a context but varies between contexts
• Morals: Usually consistent but can change with individual beliefs

Origin

• Ethics: Greek word "ethos" meaning "character"
• Morals: Latin word "mos" meaning "custom"

Acceptability

• Ethics: Governed by professional and legal guidelines within a particular time and place
• Morals: Transcend cultural norms

The Ethicist vs. The Moralist

• Ethicist: Life based on reflection; evaluates views; has questions; respects other views.
• Moralist: Life view is superior; other views are inferior; has answers; needs no other authority.

Special Case of Breaking Rules

Code of Conduct

• Set of rules outlining social norms and responsibilities.
• Starts with values underpinning the code, and obligations to stakeholders and will include how to implement these values/vision.
• Provides ethical standards and achieving them for staff.

Moral Dilemmas

• A situation of choosing actions having moral reasons but not being able to do all of them.

Dilemma

• Elderly woman alone, in poor circumstances, with few friends or relatives, wants you to take a case with money to her nephew (a compulsive gambler with a drug addiction) to deliver after her death.

Ethical Theories

• Ethics = reverence for life (Albert Schweitzer)
• Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and a tireless humanitarian.
• Success is not the key to happiness but happiness is the key to success, if you love doing it you will be successful.

Normative Ethics

• Concerned with ethical norms (standards ethics agents must comply with)
• Involves asking/investigating which actions are right and which are wrong.

Applied Ethics

• The most practical area of moral philosophy.
• Applies normative ethical theories to specific issues.
• E.g., abortion, animal rights, punishment, assisted suicide

Meta-ethics

• (Analytic ethics) Analyzes ethical properties, statements, attitudes, and judgments.
• Investigates the presuppositions behind/underneath normative ethical views/theories

Descriptive Ethics

• Study of people's beliefs about morality.
• Non-normative ethics reporting what people believe and how they differentiate proper and improper actions.

Examples

• Descriptive ethics: What do people think is right/wrong?
• Meta-ethics: What does 'right'/'wrong' mean? Analyze
• Normative ethics: How should people act?
• Applied ethics: How do we apply moral knowledge?

Consequential Ethics

• Actions are right/wrong based on the balance of consequences.
• Right action produces the best overall result.
• Utilitarianism (greatest utility/use/benefit/positive outcome) is a type of consequentialism.

Utilitarianism

• Person should perform actions conforming to the Principle of Utility (most prominent consequence-based theory).
• Choose action producing the greatest good for the greatest number of people
• Rightness/wrongness is determined by the consequences (not the actions themselves).

Utilitarianism

• The morality of an action rests on its consequences is called a consequentialist theory of ethics.
• Different views on what makes a consequence good/bad.
• Classical/hedonistic version: good/bad consequences affect people's happiness.

Utilitarianism

• Consequence is bad if it reduces happiness and good if it increases it.
• Happiness equals an increase in pleasure and/or a decrease in pain.

Hedonism

• One of the oldest ethical theories.
• Pleasure is the only good in human life.
• Maximize pleasure or minimize pain.
• Two types:
• Psychological: what people seek is pleasure
• Ethical: people ought to seek pleasure; pleasure is morally good.

Application to Bioethics: Case Study

• Conjoined twins in Manchester (2000): Jodie and Mary
• Shared organs, Jodie stronger; Mary needed blood from Jodie.
• Medical intervention to separate twins
• Option A: Do nothing; both would die.
• Option B: Intervene, save one, but other dies.

Deontological Ethics

• Duty or principle-based theory
• An act is right if it conforms to an overriding moral duty
• Focuses on duties to others & others' rights (e.g., truth-telling, keeping promises)
• A moral duty: laid down by God/supremely rational beings, or in accordance with reason/rationality.

Nonconsequential Ethics

• Judges rightness/wrongness based on actions' intrinsic properties (e.g., duty or inherent traits) not their consequences.
• Actions are good/bad intrinsically (by nature, themselves).

Ethical Relativism

• Cultures have different moral/ethical beliefs.
• Moral beliefs are influenced by culture, and different cultures disagree about moral issues (e.g., female genital mutilation, child abuse).

Ethical Decision-Making Process

• Recognize inherent ethical conflict.
• Comprehension/Appreciation
• Evaluate all ethical dimensions of the problem.
• Know involved parties
• Be aware of alternatives
• Demonstrate knowledge of ethical practices (how will the decision be implemented).
• Understand and comprehend impact.

Readings

• George D. Pozgar, Legal and Ethical Issues for Health Professionals (2020).
• Eileen E. Morrison, Beth Furlong, Health Care Ethics: Critical Issues for the 21st Century (2018).
• Myrtle R. Flight, Wendy Mia Pardew, Law, Liability, and Ethics for Medical Office Professionals (2018).

Explore ethical theories, including consequentialism, deontology, and relativism. Understand bioethics and the role of ethics in healthcare and legal frameworks. Learn how values and duties shape moral actions.