Ethical Decision Making

Weaknesses of smell test

-only as good as the society we live in -living with bad smells or unethical conduct for a long time may dull person's ability to notice them -tells us that an action is an ethical issue but not why it is right or wrong

Problem with utilitarian approach

Does not take into consideration the consequence of justice

Rights Approach

Ethical action that best protects and respects or advances the moral rights of those affected -belief that humans have a dignity based on their human nature or ability to choose freely what they do with their lives -right to be treated as ends and not merely as means to other ends

Utilitarian Approach

Ethical action that provides the most good or does the least harm -produces the greatest balance of good over harm -deals with consequences

The Common Good Approach

Life in community is a good in itself and our actions should contribute to that life -the interlocking relationships of society are the basis of ethical reasoning and that respect and compassion for all others-especially the vulnerable-are requirements of such reason

Smell test

What would the action or situation we are considering smell like if we read about in a front-page news article or in a popular blog

Markulla Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University framework for ethical decision making:

a useful method for exploring ethical dilemmas and identifying ethical courses of action

History of medical ethics dates to

antiquity, and the Hippocratic Oath to "do no harm" remains at the core of modern medical ethics

When "rights" view to ethics is taken, what is the key tactic to adopt

ask for evidence that can be provided that would require your organization to protect the particular interest

Smell test is a "quick and dirty" test for

deciding if something is an ethical issue and useful because brand name and a person's rep are important in business

The Virtue Approach

ethical actions ought to be consistent with certain ideal virtues that provide for the full development of our humanity. -dispositions and habits that enable us to act according to the highest potential of our character and on behalf of values like truth, beauty, honesty, courage, compassion, generosity, tolerance, love, fidelity, integrity, fairness, self-control, and prudence. -"What kind of person will I become if I do this?"

What is Ethics?

ethics refers to standards of behavior that tell us how human beings ought to act in the many situations in which they find themselves-as friends, parents, children, citizens, businesspeople, teachers, professionals, and so on

Exceptions and choices focus on

how the decision is made whereas utility is concerned with the results rather than the conditions or rules the action can meet

The more unique and difficult the ethical choice we face, the more we need to

rely on discussion and dialogue with others about the dilemma

Nuremberg Code

requires "informed consent" from human subjects involved in research

Choices and rights approaches focus attention on

the importance of respect for the individual whereas exceptions and utility focus more on outcomes

Utility focuses on

total net happiness for all affected individuals whereas the common good test reminds us that we should consider more than just the goods of an individual

Making good ethical decisions requires a

trained sensitivity to ethical issues and practiced method for exploring the ethical aspects of a decision and weighing the considerations that should impact our choice of a course of action

Character/virtue approach focuses on

what kind of person or organization we aspire to be and secondarily on judging individual actions

Each of 5 ethical approaches help us to determine

what standards of behavior can be considered ethical

Fairness or Justice Approach

All persons should be treated equally -treat all human beings equally-or if unequally, then fairly based on some standard that is defensible

Established a code of ethics in 1846 to regulate medical practice

American Medical Association

Framework for ethical decision making

-Recognize an ethical issue -Get the facts -Evaluate alternative actions (evaluate options using 5 approaches) -Make a decision and test it -Act and Reflect on the outcome

Bioethics definition

-branch of ethics that investigates problems specifically arising from medical and biological practice. These include problems of the nature and distribution of treatment; the sphere of authority of the patient, physician, and others; the scope and limits of confidentiality; the limits of acceptable intervention and experimentation

Strengths of smell test

-focuses on what other ethical people in society would think. prevents us from taking special advantages for ourselves -recognizes that morality is about what others think as much as about what i think -enlists the emotion of shame, a powerful motivator to be sure we're getting it right

Identifying what Ethics is NOT

-not the same as feelings -not religion -not following the law -not following culturally accepted norms -not science

Five Sources of Ethical Standards

1. Utilitarian Approach 2. Rights Approach 3. Fairness/Justice Approach 4. Common Good Approach 5. Virtue Approach

According to Velasquez et al, what are two fundamental problems in identifying the ethical standards we are to follow:

1. on what do we base our ethical standards? 2. How do those standards get applied to the specific situations that we face?

Ethics Definition

1. system of moral principles 2. rules of conduct recognized in respect to a particular class of human actions or a particular group, culture 3. moral principles, as of an individual 4. that branch of philosophy dealing with values relating to human conduct, with respect to the rightness and wrongness of certain actions and to the goodness and badness of the motives and ends of such actions