INTRODUCTION

TO BIOETHICS

What is ethics?
What is bioethics?

SYSTEMS GOVERNING
HUMAN SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR
CUSTOM
Mores

ETIQUETTE
ETHICS
Professional
Professional
Etiquette
Values

LAW
MORALITY
State, Statutes Spirituality
Legislature

Tradition

Courtesy

Enforcement
Compulsion
Judiciary
Punishment
Justice

Competence
Integrity
Fairness
Goodwill
Truth

Religious
Good vs Evil
Right vs Wrong

Example: Cheating

Imagine a situation in which you see a classmate

cheating. There are several elements from a
moral point of view:
Some people are hurt by the cheating
There is deception in the situation
Cheating seems to be unfair to those who dont
cheat
There are conflicting valueshonesty, loyalty, etc.
There are questions of character.

What is Ethics?
Ethics refers to principles that
define behavior as right, good and
proper. Such principles do not
always dictate a single "moral"
course of action, but provide a
means of evaluating and deciding
among competing options.

From Values to Principles

We translate values into principles so they can
guide and motivate ethical conduct.
Ethical principles are the rules of conduct that
derive from ethical values.
For example, honesty is a value that governs
behavior in the form of principles such as: tell the
truth, dont deceive, be candid, dont cheat. In this
way, values give rise to principles in the form of
specific "do" and "dont.

Ethics concerns putting these principles into

actions.

Why be Ethical?
As individuals, as members of larger
communities, and as human beings, it is
important to make principled decisions
on what is right and wrong.
The principles that help us in our
decision making will vary according to
the moral values we each hold as true.

Moral health
The goal of ethical
reflection is moral health.
Thus we seek to determine
what will nourish our moral
life and what will poison it.

Conclusion:
Ethics & Good Health
Ethics is like nutrition

One studies bodily health, the other

moral health
Significant disagreement in both
fields
Still there is a significant common
ground.

On what basis do we make

moral decisions?
Do what the Bible tells you--Divine Command
Theories
Follow your conscience--The Ethics of Conscience
Watch out for #1--Ethical Egoism
Do the right thing--The Ethics of Duty
Don't dis' me--The Ethics of Respect
...all Men are created ...with certain unalienable
Rights--The Ethics of Rights
Make the world a better place--Utilitarianism
Daddy, thats not fair--The Ethics of Justice
Be a good person--Virtue Ethics

"Do what the Bible tells you

Divine Command Theories
Being good is equivalent to doing whatever
the Bible--or the Quran or some other
sacred text or source of revelation--tells
you to do.
What is right equals What God tells me
to do.

Follow your conscience

The Ethics of Our Inner Voice

Conscience tells us what is right or wrong

Often has a religious source
May be founded in a notion of human nature
Is often negative in character, telling us what is
not right

"Watch out for #1

Ethical Egoism

the only person to look out

for is yourself

"Do the right thing"

The Ethics of Duty: deontology
ethics is about doing what is
right, about doing your duty.
Duty may be determined by:
Reason

Kant: Do what any rational human

being should do

Professional role

A physicians duty to care for the

sick

Social role

A parents duty to care for his or her

children

"Do the right thing"

The Ethics of Duty: deontology

a person's behavior can be

wrong even if it results in
the best possible outcome.
an act can be right even if it
results in a negative outcome

"Don't dis' me"

The Ethics of Respect
Human interactions should be governed by rules of
respect
What counts as respect can vary from one culture
to another
Examples:
spitting in the sand
showing the soles of ones shoes--Richardson
What is it that merits respect?

...all Men are created ...with

certain unalienable Rights
The Ethics of Rights
The most influential
moral notion of the past
two centuries
Established minimal
conditions of human
decency

Make the world a better place

Utilitarianism

Seeks to reduce suffering and

increase pleasure or happiness
Demands a high degree of selfsacrificewe must consider the
consequencs for everyone.
Utilitarians claim the purpose of
morality is to make the world a
better place.

Daddy, thats not fair

The Ethics of Justice
Begins early in the family with
fairness to all family members
What is fair for one should be
fair for all.
Treating people equally may not
mean treating them the same.

"Be a good person

Virtue Ethics
Developed by Plato and Aristotle
Seeks to develop individual
character
Assumes good persons will make
good decisions

What is Bioethics?
Bioethics considers the moral issues in
the fields of medical practice and
biomedical research.
The professional fields that deal with
ethical issues: medicine, nursing, law,
sociology, philosophy, and theology.

Health ethics
the moral conduct and
principles that govern
members of the
medical profession.

Professional Ethics

the rules governing the

conduct, transactions,
and relationships within
a profession and among
its publics.

MEDICAL ETHICS
definition and scope

System of values common to the medical

profession.
Systematic application of values concerning
the practice of medicine.
Standards of behavior by which the
physician may evaluate his/her relationships
with patients, colleagues and society.
Scope of medical ethics includes:

recognition of ethical dilemmas

promotion of ethical practice
development of ethical codes and guidelines
resolution of ethical conflicts

Medical
Researc
h

Medical
Students
CME,
CPD
Doctors
Employer
Doctors
Employee

Doctors
Family

Political
Upheaval, War
Natural Disasters

Medical
Insurance

Managed Care

Other Doctors

International
Community

Hospital

Paramedics

Clinic
Managemen
t

Practice
Management

Public Health

Health Promotion

Disease Diagnosis

DOCTOR

PATIENT

Disease
Prevention

Therapy

Patients Family,
Culture, Religion

National Community
Laboratories
Press, Media
Pharmaceutical
Industry

Patients Work, Employer

Patient
Organisation

MDO
Medical Council
The LAW

Alternative
Medicine

Governmen
t Bodies

THE MEDICAL ECOSYSTEM

- Enlarging Circle of Influence

Medical
Charitie
s