BIOETHICS NCM 018

CHAPTER 3: Decision Making in Value  Individual not allowed to increase his

Issues share of happiness at expense of
And Private Law another
 Value Confrontations  One ought to act to produce greatest
Values balance of happiness over
 Tell us what is right and wrong, good unhappiness, everyone considered.
and evil
 Imply a preference to correct human
behavior
 Attempt to be constructive, not
destructive, over issues involving
personal values
Essential Mental Attributes for Ethical
Reasoning:  Criticisms of Utilitarianism
 Ethical humility-awareness of the  Calculation of all possible
limits of one's own ethical insights. consequences of our actions, or
 Ethical courage-willingness to assess inactions, appears impossible.
fairly ideas, beliefs, and viewpoints  May be used to sanction
differing from our own. unfairness and violation of rights.
 Ethical empathy-a willingness to  Not sensitive to agent-relativity of
attempt to understand the opinions of duty.
others and try to see the issue from  Criticisms of Utilitarianism
their position. (continued)
 Ethical fair-mindedness-to hold one's  Does not seem to give enough respect
own beliefs and opinions to the same to persons
standard of proof and evidence that we  Justifiable to prevent others from
require for the opinions of others. doing what we believe to be harmful
acts to themselves
Teleological (Consequence-oriented)  Does not provide basis for our own
Theories moral attitudes and presuppositions.
 Consequence-oriented Theories  Rule Utilitarianism
 Judge rightness or wrongness of  Action deemed to be right if it
decisions based on outcomes or conforms to a rule validated by
predicted outcomes the principle of utility.
 The right thing to do is the good thing  Principle of utility: rule brings
to do about positive results when
 Utilitarianism- Jeremy Bentham generalized to variety of
(1748–1832) and John Stuart Mill situations.
(1806–1873) Deontological (Duty-Oriented) Theories
 The good resides in promotion of  Duty-oriented Theories
happiness or greatest net increase of  Basic rightness or wrongness of act
pleasure over pain. depends on its intrinsic nature rather
 Happiness as higher-order pleasures: than on situation or consequences.
intellectual, aesthetic, and social  Act in itself right or wrong; it could
enjoyments. not be both.
 Act Utilitarianism  Immanuel Kant (1724–1804)
 Decision based on possible  Morality derived from rationality, not
alternatives for action. from experience
 Weighing each to amount of pleasure  Obligation grounded in pure reason
or utility it provides.  Categorical imperative: do not admit
 Selecting course of action that exceptions
maximizes pleasure.  Imperative
 Equal Consideration of Interest  Command derived from a principle
 Maxim understood as universal law
 a. Universal application  Females affirm ethic of care on
b. Unconditionality responsiveness toward needs of others and
c. Demanding an action prevention of harm

 Criticisms of Kant
 Too rigid for real life Divine Command Ethics
 Morality cannot be derived from pure  Divine being set down finite series of
reason rules that adherents claim can provide
 Disregard of consequences of our actions guidance to most, if not all, moral
can lead to disastrous results decisions
 Even though nonhuman animals feel pain  Judeo-Christian Ten Commandments
and pleasure, they do not have independent  Buddhism’s Four Noble Truths and Eight-
moral standing since they are not rational Fold Path
beings  Criticisms of Divine Mandate Theory
 Possible to be faced with a conflict  Assume belief in divine beings or
between two duties equally supported by exemplary individuals
an imperative  Cannot cover all possible cases of moral
 Contract Theory of John Rawls decision
 Individual in social situation requiring  Have a “no exceptions” clause
value choice without knowing role he  Euthyphro Problem
was playing in situation.
 Individual would choose alternative Private Law
that best supported or favored most  Recognition and enforcement of rights
disadvantaged person. and duties of private citizens and
 Secure basic liberties for all. organizations
 Virtue Ethics  Tort action
 Focus on characteristics, traits, or virtues a  Existence of legal duty from defendant to
good person should have plaintiff
 Personal character and moral habit  Breach of that duty
development rather than a particular action  Damages which are a proximate result
 Aristotle’s Traits of a Virtuous Character
 Virtuous acts must be chosen for their own  Tort Categories
sakes  Negligent torts
 Choice must proceed from firm and  Intentional torts
unchangeable character  Liability assessed irrespective of fault
 Virtue is a disposition to choose the mean  Negligence
 Unintentional commission or omission of
act a person would or would not do under
same or similar circumstances
 Common forms of negligence
 Malfeasance: execution of unlawful or
improper act
 Misfeasance: improper performance of act
that leads to injury
 Nonfeasance: failure to perform an act,
 Ethics of Care when there is a duty to act
 Psychologist Carol Gilligan  Criminal negligence: reckless disregard for
 Males embrace ethic of rights and justice, safety of another
using quasi-legal terminology  D’s of negligence case
 Duty
 Dereliction of Duty
 Direct Cause
 Damage
 Intentional torts in health care practice
 Assault and battery
 Defamation of character (libel and slander)
 False imprisonment
 Invasion of privacy

 Conclusion
 Value systems or worldviews shaped by
events of our lives and traditions of our
people
 Ethical systems
 Duty orientation
 Consequence orientation
 Divine mandate
 Virtue ethics
 Public law deals with relationships
between private parties and government
 Private law deals with relationship between
citizen and citizen