HEALTH ETHICS
A. Nature of Philosophy ● Contemporary (20th Century)
● The act of questioning or wanting to know initiates
philo, most of the time, we relate philo into
thinking.
● Comes from 2 greek words
- “philos” - love
- “sophia” - knowledge/wisdom
● Love of wisdom - to the task that requires
deliberate effort to seek the truth.
● Philosopher - lover of knowledge, person who
seeks knowledge for its own sake and not any
other motive.
● Generally, philo is defined as knowledge of all
things through ultimate causes acquired through
reasoning. It is to seek explanation of existence
and nature of being. Uses reasoning.
B. Brief History of Philosophy
● Ancient / Pre Socratic (7th Century B.C)
- Greek thinkers call themselves ‘wise men’ but out
of humility. Pythagoras wanted to call himself
someone who loves wisdom or “Philosopher”.
Then on, Greek used Philosopher (love of
wisdom), Philosopher (lover of that wisdom).
● Medieval / Middle Ages
- Christian scholars and Arab Philosophers linked
philosophy to theology, one of main inspo in
Christian faith.
● Modern (17th - 18th Century A.D)
- Rene Descartes was known as Father of
Philosophy, for his philosophy of rationalism
and empiricism.
- Rationalism - philo doctrine that specifically
uses reasoning and proof in explaining reality.
- Empiricism - regards experience as the only
source of knowledge.
- In his time, abundance of knowledge of science
became a challenge to prove their discoveries
to the aid of aforementioned doctrines.
HEALTH ETHICS
- Existence of a great variety of doctrines of
philosophy strengthened its grasp of truth
seeking.
- Doctrines are: Marxism by Karl Max,
Kantianism by Immanuel Kant,
Existentialism by Jean Paul Sarte.
- These philosophers further discussed use of
inductive and deductive reasoning to prove
theories.
- These were developed by ideas and
perceptions discovered by themselves which
lead people towards growth and development.
C. Philosophy and the Nature of Man
1. As a living organism, man is capable of:
- Feeding himself for nutrition
- Growing
- Reproducing in order to protect his race.
2. As an organism to senses, man acquires
sensory knowledge through:
2.1 External Senses
- Smell, taste, and touch for nutrition
- Hearing and sight for cognition
2.2 Internal Senses
- Consciousness - awareness of sensation
and operation of external senses.
- Imagination - form of mental images or
perceived objects that are reproduced even
in their absence.
- Memory - ability to recall past objects and
states of consciousness.
- Instincts - actions conducive to the well
being of the person.
3. As an organism to senses, man tends to be
aware of good things through his emotions.
4. As a rational organism to senses, man acquires
knowledge by using his free will in judging and
reasoning.
5. As an intellectual organism, man uses his
conscience to do practical judgment in choosing a
good from an evil action.
D. The Concept of Professional Ethics and
Bioethics
- The word Bioethics began in the 1960s where
‘medical ethics’ and ‘biomedical ethics’ were in
fashion.
- Term was originally coined in America
- Van Reusselaer Potter - cancer researcher,
claims to have invented the word in the book
entitled Bioethics: Bridge to the Future.
Ethics - Greek - ethos (characteristic way of
acting)
- Latin - Mos, morrs (way of acting)
● Ethics - studies human acts or conduct
from a moral perspective as to whether they
are good or they are bad.
● Customs - acts approved by a group or
society.
● Etiquette - social observance required by
good breeding (table manners, dress codes,
etc.)
✍️ Parts of Ethics
1. General Ethics - deals with basic principles
which are the morality of human acts
2. Social Ethics - tackles the basic principles
in the life of man as a member of the
society.
✍️Objectives of Ethics
1. To make clear to us why no one acts better
than another.
2. To live an orderly social life
3. To appraise and criticize intelligently the
moral conduct and ethical system
4. To seek the value of life.
● Professional Ethics
- branch of moral science that treats
the obligations which the member of
a profession owes to the public, his
profession, and clients.
● Bioethics
- Bios (life) + Ethics
- Is the term used to describe the application
of ethics to biological sciences, medicine
and related fields
- It’s a systematic study of moral conduct in
life sciences and medicines.
- M.T. Reich, systematic study of human
behavior, spec. In the field of life sciences
and health care, as examined in the light of
moral values and principles.
- Ethics to a special focus on challenges
arising from modern biotechnology.
● Biotechnology is any technology using
micro-organism or biological materials
for technological purposes.
✍️ Scope of Bioethics:
- In initial stages, bioethics was concerned
with ethical problems assoc. To medical
practices but later the matter was
broadened to include all biosciences. It
does not deal only but solely to the
doctor-patience of relationship from moral
standpoint, expanded to social issues
related to health, animal welfare,
environmental concerns, however,
biomedical ethics remains central to this
paradigmatic discipline.
- The problem of bioethics has something to
do with the challenges posted by the
biotechnological advances and its power
over life and death.
Deals with the question about human life in
3 points:
- The beginning of life (Contraception and
Family planning)
- In the midst of life (Genetic Engineering
and Abortion)
- At the end of life (Death Penalty and
Euthanasia)
 ✍️ Importance and Significance of Bioethics
1. Provide awareness to the health team of the
‘dos’ and ‘donts’ of med practice.
2. Enrich one’s competence by understanding
that the patient is a person and holistic
individual.
Note: Ethics employs the marvelous faculty of
human reason upon the supremely important
question of what an upright life is and must be,
it is therefore a noble and important science.
D. Norms of Human Acts
- Directives of guides in making decisions on
what we ought to do or to be.
A. Law
- ordinance of reason, promulgated for the
common good by one who has legitimate
authority.
- Authoritative order that should be just,
honest, possible of fulfillment, useful, to a
certain degree of permanency and
promulgated or made known to the subject.
B. Conscience
- Practical judgment of reason upon an
individual act as good and to be performed
or as evil and to be avoided.
✍️Important Classes of Laws
A. Eternal Law - God’s eternal plan and
providence for the universe. It is the divine
reason or will commanding the preservation of
the natural order of things and forbidding its
disturbance. According to St. Thomas, it’s the
plan flowing from God’s wisdom directing all
acts and movements.
B. Natural Law - eternal law as known to humans
through reason. It's nothing more than the
national creatures’ participation in the eternal
law of God and humans come to the
knowledge of this law by natural light of his
reason (do good and avoid evil).
- That’s why it's called natural because it's
neither communicated in a supernatural
way, nor a result of a command of a
legislative or authority. The precept of
natural law is found and derived for the very
nature of human beings.
✍️ Properties of Natural Law:
a. Universality
- natural moral law binds every person at all
times and places, or the basis of every
human nature. However, human beings do
not possess the knowledge of this law,
which is fully developed from the beginning.
She or he must develop it just as the
development of other forms of knowledge of
knowledge, respect for life.
b. Immutability
- As soon as a human being has capacity to
use his/her reason, certain fundamental
norms will be self-evident to humans. These
norms are imprinted in human nature, so
they exist as long as human nature exists.
c. Indispensability
- No one is dispensed or excused in the
observance of the natural law, because the
origin of natural law is God. it is God's will.
Humans have no authority over a law of this
statu. If there's dispensation of this law,
there is violation in God's law.
✍️Types of Natural Law as presented or forbid
an act:
1. Affirmative - laws which bind always, but
not at very moment. Humans are morally
obliged to adopt all ordinary means of
preserving health and life. However, it is not
morally obliged to adopt extraordinary
means. Except if the point is not spiritually
prepared for death. Humans may do so if it
appears to be a useful, desirable and
prudent thing to do.
2. Negative - laws that are prohibitory. Laws of
the natural order which bind always and at
every moment. States that do not act or
maybe directly, deliberately willed as a
means of destroying health or life.
 - That's why it is good to identify ordinary especially true of medical or community health
from extraordinary means of preserving life, professional power.
from the standpoints of physicians and
moralists.

Viewpoints Ordinary means Extraordinary means E. Malpractice and Negligence

Physicians Standard, recognized, A medicine or procedure

establish medicines or that might be fanciful, ● Malpractice - any professional misconduct or
procedure of the period at bizarre, experimental, any unreasonable lack of skill or fidelity in the
the level of medical incompletely established performance of professional and fiduciary
practice. and not recognized.
duties.
Moralists Include not only normal All medicines, treatments ● Profit negligence - doing or failure to do that
food, drink and rest but and operations which
also in terms of hospital cannot be obtained or
action which a reasonably prudent person
practice, all medicines used of excessive would have done or would have not done in
and treatment procedures expense, pain or other like or similar circumstances.
which offer reasonable inconvenience for the
hope or benefit for the
patient which can be
obtained and used for
point or for others, or
which if used would not
offer a reasonable hope
✍️Elements of Negligence
excessive expense, pain for the point.
or other inconvenience. Note: Before one is accused of negligence, there
are certain elements that should be present. if one
3. Human Positive Law: of these is not present, negligence cannot be
● Law enacted by the church or state. declared:
● An ordinance of reason derived from the
natural law or making a concrete and 1. Existence of duty - there must be a moral
determinate application of the natural law, obligation incumbent upon the person of doing
promulgated for the common good by a human or omitting something as mandated by her/his
institution in charge of society. profession.

Note: Whenever we perform actions that are in
conformity to the law, it is good. We are talking
of laws that are also morally sound. This guides
us to become citizens who abide by certain
rules, and develop us to become moral
individuals. The knowledge on diff aspects of
law will help us become more careful in
following the norms to fulfill our duty in the
preservation of human life.
● Professional Ethics:
2. Failure to perform the duty - one fails to
respond to the call of his/her profession.
3. Injury resulting from failure - there was
grave harm that resulted from not doing his/her
duty or from doing the wrong thing due to lack
of knowledge.
Note: it is therefore very important to a member of a
certain profession, to know his/her rights and duties
as a professional.

- A branch of moral science which treats the

obligations which a member of a profession
owes to the public, to her/his profession, and
to his/her clients.

- A professional medical ethics expresses

responsibility in medical codes and ethical
treatises. All socially authorized professional
power requires public accountability, and this is