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.