BIOETHICS

structure, function, growth, origin, distribution

and taxonomy

(DEFINITION)
o Bioethics – Ethics of life. A branch of applied
ethics which investigates practices and
developments in the life sciences and or
biomedical fields. As an applied ethics, its
Ethics primary and major predicaments are those
 A practical and normative science concerning life, health and death that have
 based on reason which studies human acts and resulted from modern biological technology
provide norms for their goodness and badness. particularly the way they have affected human
values.
Bioethics
EVOLUTIONARY PHASES OF BIOETHICAL
 Moral philosophy
 it deals with morality, moral rectitude or the STUDIES
rightness and wrongness of human act.  Medical Ethics
Bioethics as Practical Science o Oldest phase of bioethical exploration
o A formulation of ethical norms for the conduct
 As a practical science, it deals with a systematized of health care professionals in the treatment of
body of knowledge that can be used, practiced and patients.
applied to human action. o Codes of ethics were written by and for
Bioethics as Normative Science physicians as early as the 3rd century BC
 Hippocratic Oath
 It establishes norms or standards for the direction o Oldest known formulations of medical ethics,
and regulation of human actions named after Hippocrates,
o To be kept from harm and injustice (physician
TYPES OF ETHICS
should not prescribe fatal dugs nor should
 General Ethics or Normative Ethics suggest fatal drugs to be taken;
o Diverse ethical formulations of general and o Rules out any form of abortifacient and sexual
universal concepts and principles which serve as relations between doctors and patients;
the foundation of morality o Moral significance of confidentiality, the
o Raises the problem of moral norm and attempts medical secrecy)
to formulate and defend a system of  Research Ethics
fundamental ethical perceptions that settle o Refers to the use of humans as experimental
which acts are good or evil specimens e.g. prisoners, poor patients,
o Does not only apply general moral concepts and children and fetuses.
principles but also specifies the particular o Third Reich-dictatorial regime of Adolf Hitler;
situations in life which they are valid and superman concept as the culmination of the
legitimate philosophy will to power; experiment using
o Applied in an attempt to resolve specific moral human without consent was done
problems  Nuremburg Code
 Applied Ethics o Attempted to humanize the cruel and barbaric
o Professional Ethics – Deals with certain moral nature of experiments using human species in
precepts or rules by which persons behave and German concentration camps. It takes into
act in exercise of their calling or profession (e.g. account the experimental subjects’ consent,
nursing ethics, teacher’s code of ethics for now known as informed consent, informed
educators) decision or informed choice
o Biology – A natural science concerned with the
study of life and living organisms including their
  Knowledge - Awareness or consciousness of the
conditions and meaning of our actions. An act
performed during sleep or when a person is insane is
 Public Policy not a human act.
o Accentuates the participatory aspect of  Freedom - Power to choose between 2 or more
decision making in a democratic set up with courses of action without being forced to take one or
regard to the formulation of public policies for the other by anything except your own will.
the benefit of all.  Voluntariness - Occurs when man knows the
o Refers to the people’s efforts or involvement in purpose of his action. It is a will-act.
formulating public guidelines for both clinical
cases and biomedical research
Ignorance - absence of knowledge in an individual who
Personhood is supposed to know it
 Man is man by his intellect and by his rational will. o Vincible – can be overcome by exerting some
 man is responsible for his actions.
effort
 He alone is aware of what he is doing and is free to
o Invincible – can hardly be removed even if one
act or not to act.
were to exert extra effort to overcome it
 When he does not know what he is doing or when he
is no longer free to act, the responsibility for his Conscience
actions is no longer blamed to him.
 The moral faculty of a man which tells him
 Acts of irrational animals and insane persons are
subjectively what is good and evil
devoid of moral significance. They are amoral beings
 Sensitivity with regard to choosing our actions;
performing non-moral acts
 The consciousness of human value is the basis of
judgment we make concerning morality of our
actions.
 If our evaluation of the worth of a person is high, we
Human Acts shall be sensitive to how close our action is to the
deal;
 Are done with knowledge and full consent of the  If it is low, then we shall be less sensitive in
will. achieving the ideal.
 One knows what one is doing and does it freely and  The last arbiter of one’s moral decision
willingly.

Acts of Man
School of
Thoughts
 Which are performed in the absence of either or
both knowledge and full consent of the will.
 Actions committed by unconscious and insane Ethical Relativism
persons, by infants or by those who are physically
forced to do something.  Moral relativism,
 Claims that there are no universal or absolute moral
Acts of Men principles.
 Actions which merely happen in the body or through  Standards of right or wrong are always relative to a
the body without the awareness of the mind or the particular culture or society.
control of the will. Situation Ethics

 By Joseph Fletcher, an American Protestant Medical

Doctor
3 Elements of Human Act
 3 Approaches to Morality (Fletcher)
1. Legalistic/Normative
 o Prescribes certain general moral prescriptions,  Holds that the true and valid form of knowledge is
laws or norms by which to judge, determine and one which is practical, workable, beneficial and
settle the rightness and wrongness of human useful
judgment or decision  True and Valid Form of Knowledge (Pierce)
o Fletcher finds this too restrictive 1. Practical – one that we can practice and
o produces practical results
2. Antinomian 2. Workable – one that we can put to work; it can
o Frees the Christian from the obligations of the be worked out and it works
moral law 3. Beneficial – it benefits people
o There are no absolute precepts or moral  The truth happens to ideas and is not a quality or
principles by which to be guided in making property of ideas.
decision  Truth is made by true events or happening
o Fletcher finds it too liberal and unconventional  Argument
which may lead to anarchy and chaos  Materialistic - its claim that the truth is the cash
3. Situationism value of an idea
o The moral norm depends upon a given situation  Too individualistic
o Whatever the situation may be, one must Utilitarianism
always act in the name of Christian love
o Situation refers to human condition or any state  2 English philosophers, Jeremy Bentham and John
of moral affairs and issues that demand a moral Stuart Mill
judgment or action.  It claims that there is one and only one moral
o Fletcher’s preferred approach principle – the principle of utility
 States that the rightness and wrongness of actions is
3 TYPES OF LOVE (FETCHER) determined by the goodness and badness of their
1. Eros - sexual love consequences
2. Philia – affection that binds a parent to a child, a  The utility of an action is determined by the extent
brother to a sister, etc. to which it promotes happiness rather than its
3. Agapeic – one’s care, concern and kindness to reverse.
others. Characterized by charity, respect and  Consequences, effects, results and outcomes are
responsibility towards the others; Christian love most important
 Alternative form of the utilitarian’s utility principle as
Situationism
to get rid of individualism and subjectivism: Principle
 Combine love and justice in treating ill patients. of the Greatest Happiness
 Agapeic love serves to check selfish  Principle of the Greatest Happiness
 Motive as well as uncaring health personnel. o An action is good (right) in so far as it produces
 It makes moral decisions flexible and the greatest happiness for the greatest number
 Adaptable to varying situations. Circumstances alter of people;
cases. o An action is bad (wrong) in so far as it produces
 Argument more harm than benefit for the greatest
 Medical misuse and abuse may be surreptitiously number of individuals
committed  Act utilitarianism – situationalistic;
 Rule utilitarianism – absolutistic
Pragmatism
 Once a rule or policy is formulated, it must be
 Charles Peirce and William James Peirce followed given the same set of circumstances
o Philosopher, physicist, mathematician and the  Provides a system for formulating, testing and
founder and inventor of the term pragmatism evaluating hospital policies and regulations which
 More of a theory of knowledge, truth and meaning give rise to the enactment of laws, directives,
than of morality guidelines and codes of conduct
 Service Oriented

 The quality of being helpful, useful and generous to

others
 Value-added attitude of dedication to one’s work not
mindful of remuneration paid, time spent, or
schedule given
Argument
Simplicity
 It justifies the imposition of discomfort or suffering
on a few for the sake of the many  The quality of being sincere, true or straightforward
 It is somewhat impractical to attempt to determine  Absence of show or pretension
all the possible legitimate results that must be taken  To live with integrity, to be simple
into account before a moral decision can be  Advocate of sustainable development
adjudged as right or wrong.
Risk Taking Personality
 It ignores the motives from which some moral
decisions are made.  The quality of being courageous, strong, open and
vulnerable
THE QUALITIES AND Patience
CHARACTERISTICS OF  The quality of being willing to put up waiting, pain or
EFFECTIVE HEALTH anything that annoys, trouble or hurts

CARE PROVIDERS

Quality

 A dynamic state associated with people, services,

processes and environment that meets or exceeds
expectations
 Applies to any distinctive feature or characteristic of
an individual
 Professional’s proficiencies that conform to clients or
patients expectation
 Desirable personal attributes or traits that health
care providers such as nurses, may possess

Personal Qualities/Charcteristics
Self Respect

 Proper regard for the dignity of one’s character or

position
 Appreciation or recognition of its obligation of
worthy conduct

Self-Transcendence

 The quality of going beyond one’s own self

 Self-giving
 Selfless love
 The death of self