Introduction to Ethics PDF

Introduction to Ethics and Ethical Theories Dr. Lamis Nader Assistant Professor January 15, 2025 www.gmu.ac.ae COLLEGE OF MEDICINE Objectives 1- Define ethi...

Introduction to Ethics and Ethical Theories Dr. Lamis Nader Assistant Professor January 15, 2025 www.gmu.ac.ae COLLEGE OF MEDICINE Objectives 1- Define ethics and morals. 2- Differentiate between ethics and morals. 3- Identify the ethical theories. 4- Explain the concepts of moral norms, meta-ethics, descriptive ethics ,utilitarianism, hedonism and ethical relativism.  Ethics Ethics refers to standards of conduct, standards that indicate how one should behave based on duties and virtues, which themselves are derived from principles of right and wrong. It is a branch of philosophy that seeks to understand the nature. Ask yourself, “Should this be done?” and then “How can it be done in the right way?” The field of biotechnology raises numerous ethical concerns, related to professional integrity, data handling, use of human subjects in research, and the application of new techniques, such as gene manipulation, stem cell treatment or cloning. Bioethics This discipline deals with the ethical implications of biological research and applications, especially in biomedicine. It considers social and moral aspects and potential outcomes of the use of biological and medical techniques. Bioethics includes the study of what is right and wrong in new discoveries and techniques in biology, such as genetic engineering, transplantation of organs, abortion etc. What is ethics? Justified principles and values. Convincing argument. Values that have appeal outside your own group or nation. Character and virtues that produce trust. What ethics is not? Personal beliefs. What polls and surveys reveal. The law (but remember you must obey and never go against). Religious beliefs. Why should ethics be studied? 1-Many have been harmed by a lack of attention to ethics. 2-Law requires it. Ethics leads the law. 3-Ethics help out in the afterlife. 4-Ethics provides for a stable society. 5-Ethics makes you more successful. 6-Ethics allows you to cultivate inner peace.  Ethics is important “Ethics helps us not only in distinguishing between right and wrong but also in knowing why and on what grounds our judgment of human actions is justified”.  Morality Is the differentiation of intentions, decisions, actions between those that are distinguished as proper and those that are improper. In other words, it is the disjunction between right and wrong. Morality can be derived from a particular philosophy, religion, or culture, or it can be derived from a concept that a person believes  Where does morality come from? Parents. Religion. Peers. Technology. Ethics and Morality The terms ethics and morality are often used interchangeably - indeed, they usually can mean the same thing, and in casual conversation there isn't a problem with switching between one and the other. However, there is a distinction between them in philosophy! Difference between ethics and morals What are they? Ethics Morals The rules of Habits concerning right or conduct recognized wrong conduct. in respect to a While morals also particular class of prescribe dos and don'ts, human actions or a morality is ultimately a particular group. personal compass of right and wrong. Difference between ethics and morals Where do they come from? Ethics Morals Social system – Internal. External Individual. Why do we follow it? Ethics Morals Because society says it is Because we believe in the right thing to do. something being right or wrong. Flexibility Ethics Morals Ethics are dependent on others for definition. Usually consistent, although can change if an individual’s They tend to be consistent beliefs change. within a certain context but can vary between contexts. Origin Ethics Morals Greek word "ethos" Latin word "mos" meaning "character“. meaning "custom“. Acceptability Ethics Morals Ethics are governed by Morality transcends cultural professional and legal norms. guidelines within a particular time and place. The ethicist The moralist My life view is based on My life view is superior. reflection. Other views are inferior. I evaluate life views. I have the answers. I have questions. I need no other authority. I respect other views. Aristotle (384-322) Which of the following is a special case that justifies breaking a generally accepted rule? 1a. You should respect the highway code, but it is ok to drive through a red light if you are late for work. 1b. You should respect the highway code, but it is ok to drive through a red light if you are taking a critically ill person to the hospital. 2a. You should keep your word, but it is ok to break a social engagement if something more interesting comes up. 2b. You should keep your word, but it is ok to break a social engagement if you have just contracted an infectious disease. 3a. You should pay your taxes, but it is ok not to pay them if you are short of money that year. 3b. You should pay your taxes, but it is ok not to pay them if they are being spent on a nuclear arms program. Code of conduct Is a set of rules outlining the social norms and rules and responsibilities of, or proper practices for, an individual, party or organization. A code of ethics will start by setting out the values that underpin the code and will describe a company's obligation to its stakeholders. It will include details of how the company plans to implement its values and vision, as well as guidance to staff on ethical standards and how to achieve them. Moral dilemmas A moral dilemma is a situation where: You are presented with two or more actions, all of which you have the ability to perform. There are moral reasons for you to choose each of the actions. You cannot perform all of the actions and have to choose which action to perform. A dilemma An elderly woman living alone in poor circumstances with few friends or relatives is dying, and you, her friend, are at her bedside. She draws your attention to a small case under her bed, which contains some momentos along with the money she has managed to save over the years, despite her apparent poverty. She asks you to take the case and to promise to deliver its contents, after she dies, to her nephew living in another state. Moved by her plight and by your affection for her, you promise to do as she requests. After a tearful goodbye, you take the case and leave. A few weeks later the old woman dies, and when you open the case, you discover that it contains $500,000. No one else knows about the money or the promise you made. You learn that the nephew is a compulsive gambler and has a drug addiction. What would you do? Why?  Ethical theories Ethics, too, are nothing but reverence for life. (ALBERT SCHWEITZER) He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his philosophy of "reverence for life" and tireless humanitarian work. “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful”. Normative ethics Normative ethics is concerned with ethical norms. An ethical norm is a norm in the sense of being a standard with which ethics agents ought to comply. Perhaps the central question of normative ethics involves asking which actions fall into the category of the right and the category of the wrong. This is called the theory of right action. The theory of right action is an investigation and an attempt to answer the question: "What ought I to do?" The "ought" in this question is to be interpreted as a moral ought and may be understood as equivalent to the question: "What is the right thing to do?“. Applied ethics Applied ethics is the most practical area of moral philosophy. It seeks to apply normative ethical theories to specific issues, telling what it is right and wrong for us to do. The most interesting debates in applied ethics concern contentious issues such as abortion, animal rights, punishment and assisted suicide.  Meta-ethics Sometimes known as analytic ethics—is the branch of ethics that seeks to understand the nature of ethical properties, and ethical statements, attitudes, and judgments. Another way of saying it is that meta-ethics is reasoning about the presuppositions behind or underneath a normative ethical view or theory.  Descriptive ethics Descriptive ethics, also known as comparative ethics, is the study of people's beliefs about morality. A type of non- normative ethics that simply reports what people believe about actions and how they compare between proper and improper. Examples The following examples of questions that might be considered in each field illustrate the differences between the fields: Descriptive ethics: What do people think is right and what do people think is wrong? Meta-ethics: What does "right" even mean? Analyze. Normative (prescriptive) ethics: How should people act? Applied ethics: How do we take moral knowledge and put it into practice? Consequential ethics Actions are right or wrong according to the balance of their good and bad consequences. The right act is the one that produces the best overall result. Utilitarianism (what action has the greatest utility - use/benefit/positive outcome) is a type of consequentialism. Utilitarianism According to Utilitarianism, a person should perform those actions which conform to the Principle of Utility. Most prominent consequence-based theory. The Principle of Utility says: a person should choose that action which produce the greatest good for the greatest number of people affected by the alternatives open to him. The rightness or wrongness of actions is determined by the goodness or badness of the actions’ consequences, not by the actions themselves. Utilitarianism Because the morality of an action, according to utilitarianism, rests on its consequences, utilitarianism is called a “consequentialist theory of ethics.” There are different views as to what make a consequence good or bad. According to the “classical” or “hedonistic” version, what makes a consequence good or bad is its effect on people’s happiness. Utilitarianism Roughly, a consequence is bad if it reduces happiness, good if it increases happiness. Happiness, in turn, is understood to mean: an increase in pleasure and/or decrease in pain. Because of the emphasis on happiness, utilitarianism is sometimes called “the greatest happiness principle”. Hedonism One of the oldest ethical theories. Pleasure is the only good thing in human life. Maximize pleasure or minimize pain. 2 types: Psychological – what people seek each day is pleasure. Ethical – people ought to seek pleasure & pleasure is the moral good. Application to bioethics In August 2000, conjoined twins, named Mary and Jodie were born in a hospital in Manchester England. Their spines were fused, and they had one heart and one pair of lungs between them. Jodie, the stronger one, was providing blood for her sister. The prognosis was that without intervention, both girls would die within six months. The only hope was an operation to separate them. This would save Jodie, but Mary would die immediately. Thus, there were two options: (a) Not intervene and see both babies die Or (b) Intervene and save one life, Jodie. Deontological ethics Duty or principle-based theory. An act is right if it conforms to an overriding moral duty. It focus on one's duties to others and other's rights like telling the truth and keeping your promises. A moral duty or principle is one that is:  laid down by god / supremely rational being  or is in accordance with reason / rationality  or would be agreed by all rational beings. Nonconsequential ethics Judges the rightness or wrongness of an action based on properties intrinsic to the action, not on its consequences. Non-consequentialist ethics holds that actions are intrinsically good or bad (= by themselves).  Ethical relativism Anthropologists have reported that different cultures have different moral/ethical beliefs. It is nothing more than the claim that our moral beliefs are influenced by our culture and that people of different cultures often disagree about certain moral issues. For example, some cultures think young girls should be circumcised and other cultures think it is child abuse. Ethical decision-making process Recognize inherent ethical conflict through Comprehension. Appreciation. Evaluation of all ethical dimensions of problem. Know the parties involved. Being aware of alternatives. Demonstrating knowledge of ethical practices. Understanding how the decision will be implemented. Understanding who will be affected. Understand and comprehend the impact. Readings George D. Pozgar. Legal and Ethical Issues for Health Professionals. 5th Edition. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning; 2020. ISBN-13: 978- 1284144185, ISBN-10: 1284144186. Chapter 1, Page 2-9. Eileen E. Morrison, Beth Furlong, Health Care Ethics: Critical Issues for the 21st Century Paperback ,2018. ISBN-13:9781284124910. Page 3-30. Myrtle R. Flight, Wendy Mia Pardew, Law, Liability, and Ethics for Medical Office Professionals 6th edition, 2018, ISBN: 9781305972728.Page 193- 200. Thank You DISCLAMER The contents of this presentation, can be used only for the purpose of a Lecture, Scientific meeting or Research presentation at Gulf Medical University, Ajman. www.gmu.ac.ae