Medical Ethics Intro to Ethical Theories PDF

SUBJECT MEDICAL ETHICS WEEK 3: Introduction to Medical Ethics (Part 1) Prepared by: Jonathan Atendido Lecturer: Dr. Jerillie Anne Cordero-Saipudin Date: August 28,...

SUBJECT MEDICAL ETHICS WEEK 3: Introduction to Medical Ethics (Part 1) Prepared by: Jonathan Atendido Lecturer: Dr. Jerillie Anne Cordero-Saipudin Date: August 28, 2024 ETHICAL THEORIES Only under special circumstances is it necessary to consider Represent the grand ideas on which guiding principles are whether an exception may have to be made. based. They attempt to be coherent and systematic, striving to ESSENTIAL FEATURE OF UTILITARIANISM answer the fundamental questions: 4 Conditions must be satisfied: - What ought I do? 1. The principle of utility: “Maximize the Good.” - How ought I live? First, actors are obliged to maximize the good: We ought always to produce the greatest possible I. UTILITARIANISM balance of value over disvalue. advocates actions that foster happiness or pleasure and But what is good or valuable? opposes actions that cause unhappiness or harm. 2. A theory of value: “The Standard of Goodness” a utilitarian philosophy would aim for the betterment of Only pleasure or happiness can be intrinsically society as a whole when making social, economic, or good (Bentham and Mills). political decisions. To maximize an individual’s utility is to maximize Utilitarianism would say that an action is right it results in what he or she has chosen or would choose from the happiness of the greatest number of people in a society the available alternatives. or a group of people. 3. Consequentialism “The greatest good for the greatest number” is a maxim of is the position that actions are morally right or utilitarianism. wrong according to their consequences, rather JEREMY BENTHAM AND JOHN STUART MILLS than by virtue of any intrinsic moral features they Stated that an action is right if it tends to promote may have. happiness and wrong if it tends to produce sadness, or the A utilitarian demands that we only take account reverse of happiness — not just the happiness of the actor of what can be reasonable, expected to produce but that of everyone affected by it. the greatest balance of good or lease balance of At work, you display utilitarianism when you take actions harm. to ensure that the office is a positive environment for your 4. Impartiality (universalism) co-workers to be in, and then make it so for yourself. the consequences affecting all parties must receive equal and impartial consideration. Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832) This theory instructs adherents to work for those Bentham’s ethics began with the preposition that nature outcomes that will give the most advantage to the has placed human beings under two masters: pleasure and majority of those affected in the most impartial pain. way possible. Anything that seems good must be either directly It is often activated as the basis for broad social pleasurable or thought to be a means to pleasure or to the policies. avoidance of pain. Conversely, anything that seems bad must be either BUSINESS ETHICS directly painful or thought to be a means to pain or to the The theory asserts that there are two types of utilitarian deprivation of pleasure. ethics practiced in the business world, “rule” utilitarianism From this, Bentham argued that the words right and wrong and “act” utilitarianism. can be meaningful only if they are used in accordance with Rule utilitarianism: helps the largest number of people using utilitarian principle, so that whatever increases the net the fairest methods possible. surplus of pleasure over pain is right and whatever Act utilitarianism: makes the most ethical actions possible for decreases it is wrong. the benefit of the people. John Stuart Mills (1806-1873) RULE UTILITARIANISM Bentham’s successor as the leader of the Utilitarians. Ex: Tiered pricing for a product or service for different types of Although his position was based on the maximization of customers. happiness (and this is said to consist of pleasure and the In the airline industry, many planes offer first-, business-, absence of pain), he distinguished between pleasures that and economy-class seats. Customers who fly in first or are higher and those that are lower in quality. business class pay a much higher rate than those in Mill sought to show that utilitarianism is compatible with economy seats, but they also get more amenities- moral rules and principles relating to justice, honesty, and simultaneously, people who cannot afford upper-class seats truthfulness by arguing that utilitarians should not attempt benefit from the economy rates. This practice produces the to calculate before each action whether that particular highest good for the greatest number of people. action will maximize utility. And the airline benefits, too. The more expensive upper- Instead, they should be guided by the fact that an action class seats help to ease the financial burden that the airline falls under a general principle (such as the principle that created by making room for economy-class seats. people should keep their promises), and adherence to that general principle tends to increase happiness. SUBJECT: MEDICAL ETHICS Prepared by: Jonathan Atendido Date: August 28, 2024 1 SUBJECT MEDICAL ETHICS WEEK 3: Introduction to Medical Ethics (Part 1) Prepared by: Jonathan Atendido Lecturer: Dr. Jerillie Anne Cordero-Saipudin Date: August 28, 2024 ACT UTILITARIANISM the importance of truth telling, then this employer rightly but Ex: Pharmaceutical companies release drugs that have been deserves no moral credit for the action. governmentally approved, but with known minor side effects because - An action has a moral worth only when performed by the drug is able to help more people than are bothered by the side an agent who possesses a good will, and a person has effect a good will only if moral duty, based on universally Act utilitarianism often demonstrates the concept that "the end valid rule is the motive for the action justifies the means"-or it's worth it. Moral Law - Kant's supreme principle. This Kantian principle has LIMITATIONS OF UTILITARIANISM often been compared to the golden rule. It tends to create a black-and-white construct of morality. In utilitarian ethics, there are no shades of gray-either A. CATEGORICAL IMPERATIVE something is wrong or it is right. It is categorical because it admits of no exceptions and is Utilitarianism also cannot predict with certainty whether absolutely binding. the consequences of our actions will be good or bad-the It is imperative because it gives instructions about how one results of our actions happen in the future. should act Utilitarianism also has trouble accounting for values like Ex: helping others in distress, do not commit suicide, work to develop justice and individual rights. your abilities. Example, say a hospital has four people whose lives depend upon receiving organ transplants: a heart, lungs, a kidney, and a liver. If a B. HYPOTHETICAL IMPERATIVE healthy person at the wanders into the hospital, his organs could be Tell us what we must do, provided that we already have harvested to save four lives expense of his one life. This would certain desires, interests, or goals. arguably produce the greatest good for the greatest number. But few These imperatives are not commanded for their own sake would consider it an acceptable course of action, let alone an ethical but commanded as a means to an end that has already been one. will or accepted. These imperatives are not moral in Kant's philosophy HOW DOES UTILITARIANISM AFFECT SOCIETY? because moral imperatives tells us what must be done to Bases the authority of government and the sanctity of individual independently of our goals or desires. rights upon their utility, thus providing an alternative to theories of natural law, natural rights, or social contract. NEVER TREAT PERSONS AS MEANS "One must act to treat every person as an end and never as a means II. DEONTOLOGY ETHICS (KANTIAN THEORIES) only". The term deontology is derived from the Greek deon, One must treat persons as having their own autonomously "duty," and logos, "science." established goals. In deontological ethics an action is considered morally good To treat persons merely as means, is to disregard their because of some characteristic of the action itself, not personhood by exploiting or otherwise using them without because the product of the action is good. regards to their own thoughts, interest and needs. Deontological ethics holds that at least some acts are morally obligatory regardless of their consequences for RULES AS UNIVERSAL LAW human welfare. Applies to everyone: no exception Descriptive of such ethics are such expressions as "Duty for duty's Example: Lying the universality of rules that allow lying would entitle sake" everyone to lie to you, just as you would be entitle to lie to them IMMANUEL KANT (1724-1804) A theory that some features of actions other than or in addition to consequences make actions obligatory. More additional information Judgment is based on whether an act is in keeping with some moral standard: principle, rule, maxim or duty that is derived from an underlying moral principle. It stresses the intrinsic value of all individual persons: dignity, respect, autonomy. Kant believed that an act is morally praiseworthy only if done neither for self-interest reasons nor as a result of a natural disposition, but rather from duty. That is, the person's motive for acting must be a recognition of the act as resting on duty. If one merely performs the morally correct action, because one perform one's duty for self-interest reasons, have nothing to do with morality Example: If an employer discloses a health hazard to an employee only because he or she fears a lawsuit, and not because of a belief in SUBJECT: MEDICAL ETHICS Prepared by: Jonathan Atendido Date: August 28, 2024 2