Ethical Theory Flashcards

Question

What is Post hoc fallacy?

Answer 1

Occurs when an arguer assumes (w/out reason) that bc 1 event precedes another, the 1st event was the cause of the 2nd (ie. smoking causes lung cancer)

Answer 2

Occurs when an arguer assumes (w/out sufficient evidence) that a single condition/event is the SOLE cause of some effect (when there are other contributing causes) ex. Alex believes that the only reason he got a bad grade on his exam was bc he went to delilahas but it is acc bec he did not study enough

Answer 3

Assume something caused something without any reason

Answer 4

- Deals with questions of right/wrong conduct and with what we ought to do and what we ought to refrain from doing. - Considers issues of rights and obligations and how these are related to the social setting - helps you to distinguish between right and wrong

Answer 5

Objective - the right thing to do is UNIVERSAL Reality - the right thing to do depends on CONTEXT

Answer 6

One right or wrong in law - illegal or legal - ie. Rosa parks: In wrong seat by law 'illegally' refused to move - wrong 'proper' application of law = Arrest her - from an ethics POV, now everyone sees that as wrong even tho technically 'right' by law, bc ethics is dependent on context

Answer 7

1. Ethical objectivism 2. Ethical relativism 3. Ethical non cognitivism

Answer 8

1. Right and wrong are "objective phenomena" 2. There are "moral facts" 3. Ethics is "objective in nature"

Answer 9

- Things are morally right and wrong depending on the moral facts involved - Moral statements are true or false depending on whether they 'correspond' with those moral facts - Correspondence theory - evaluate based on how it corresponds to your beliefs

Answer 10

Objective moral facts, we can: 1. Know them - fact because we know them to be true 2. Speak meaningfully about them - share knowledge 3. Reason about them - fact can provide evidence therefore can justify 4. Resolve disagreements by appeal to them - facts are verifiable, because use fact to disprove inaccurate claims

Answer 11

1. Cognitivist: there is an ethical reality we can know and speak about meaningfully → justify an argument with good reasoning 2. Rationalists: ethical disputes can be rationally resolved by logic and reasoning → who has most evidence 3. Absolutist: there is an objective right or wrong answer for every ethical questions → must be true everywhere

Answer 12

Moral facts are natural facts - they are observable, measurable features of the natural world (ie. study ethics in the same way you study cells) Ex. “morally good” is what makes us happy

Answer 13

There are moral facts but they are NOT observable features of the natural world (require specialized institutions) - facts that can NOT be seen (ie. religion) Ex. “morally good” is what God commands

Answer 14

Ethical statements… - are not objectively true or false in regards to their correspondence with objective moral facts - are true or false relative to a particular subjective point of view - Are cognitively meaningful but only relatively - Every culture has their own moral system - Society creates ethical system based on context

Answer 15

1. Person - I will do whats good and right for me, consider self needs only 2. Culture or society 3. Historical or situational context ex. remove a monument because the person is found to be a bad person in present time even if what they did was right at the time

Answer 16

Ethical utterances are not statements that can be validated - They do not assert anything objectively true or false - they assert an opinion on the issue

Answer 17

- To bring perspective to experience - To provide moral guidance that is: 1) Clear, 2) Rational, 3) Systematic, 4) Defensible

Answer 18

1. Epistemological requirements - based on evidence - Accountable to evidence (falsifiable or verifiable) 2. Logical requirements - Consistent 3. Practical requirements - Must be livable - “Ought” implies “can” - assume capability, cannot make expectation if not possible

Answer 19

- claims that humans are inherently self-interested - Even if it is wrong, people will be selfish - Criticism of psychological egoism: Simon Blackburn - irrefutability - Blackburn argues that psychological egoism ignores the complexity of human motivation.

Answer 20

Moral decision making is guided by self-interest - ethical egoism prescribes a moral standard for behaviour, and claims that acting in one's self-interest is morally right.

Answer 21

Psychological egoism - a descriptive theory that describes how DO humans behave - claims that people are naturally self-interested Ethical egoism - a normative theory that prescribes how humans SHOULD behave - claims that acting in one's self-interest is the only rational or moral basis for action

Answer 22

An advocate of ethical egoism - What is good for each individual is what is ethical for them to do - Do what is good for you - it is the moral thing to do

Answer 23

Not consistent with beliefs

Answer 24

Argued that the singers mom developed Alzheimer's and was non functional --> nonfunctional people should not have health care (singers belief) so why did you spend it on your mom?

Answer 25

Theory that we should act to produce the best consequences Ex. a country is going to attack another country --> is it ethical to torture a prisoner who knows information to save the many lives of others?

Answer 26

- Gives to quick of an answer in situations like the one above - Allows for people to be used --> does not leave room for justice, integrity, and treating people with respect

Answer 27

- Right choice = one that produces good But what Is good? Differs - Originates for utilitarianism - specific view of what the goods are = utility - Utility = hedonic satisfaction? - In terms of utility, the right choice is the choice that leaves the world in a happier place - Not all consequentialists are utilitarian - Consequentialists differ about the goods they want to increase in the world - utilitarianism is a form of consequentialism that evaluates the rightness/wrongness of an action based on its ability to maximize overall happiness or pleasure and minimize overall pain or suffering. - Utilitarianism is linked to consequentialism because it focuses on the consequences of an action to determine its moral worth.

Answer 28

The right choice is NOT always the choice that produces the goods - A non-consequentialist would say to tell the truth even when the truth is not the best The morality of an action is not only determined by consequences

Answer 29

1. if you always make choices that will produce the most good - will that make it loose it Integrity? --> Any ethical theory that has a quick answer without hesitation even when both options are bad, poses a problem 2. no ethical theory should require you to treat people badly --> Should not treat people bad as a means to reach the good

Answer 30

Yes - unless certain circumstances aren't morally correct within the law

Answer 31

- A reason to believe something or act a certain way and is justified - the study of what ought to be, rather than what is. Ex. of normative statement; Beethoven was a better musician than Justin Bieber

Answer 32

Can be analyzed in terms of reason - To say that something is good is to say that there is someone to favour it - Reasons to have feelings like admiration/liking

Answer 33

Morality is relative, do not criticize others morals Ex. morals across different cultures

Answer 34

The view that there is no absolute or universal moral law or truth, resulting in a morality determined by cultural factors or personal preference

Answer 35

Disputes about morals when they arise are indisputable --> due to different views There is not an absolute moral principle

Answer 36

- Circumstances matter in ethical situations (ex. speeding but there is an emergency situation) - Absolutists do not consider circumstances

Answer 37

Based on the principle of utility - one should act in a way to bring about the greatest good and the least harm for the most people

Answer 38

- Good = pleasure/hedonism (concept that emphasizes pleasure and happiness as the ultimate goals of human life) - pleasure principle: if it feels good, you should do it for as many people as possible

Answer 39

Add up the positives (pleasure-inducing, “hedons”, on 1 side, subtract the negatives (pain inducing, “delors”) and if the total is 1 or higher = good - the higher the #, the better

Answer 40

1. Intensity - how strong is the pleasure? 2. Duration: How long will the pleasure last? 3. Certainty or uncertainty: How likely or unlikely is it that the pleasure will occur? 4. Propinquity or remoteness: How soon will the pleasure occur? 5. Fecundity: The probability that the action will be followed by sensations of the same kind. 6. Purity: The probability that it will not be followed by sensations of the opposite kind. 7. Extent: How many people will be affected?

Answer 41

- Good = happiness, eudaemonia (virtuous behaviour) - 'happiness' - sense of wellbeing, balance, mental, and physical joy - Actions are right when they tend to promote happiness; wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness' - No matter how great something is - eventually can become boring if overdone/overused Ex. eating your favourite meal every single day - would get tired of it - by 'happiness', he means intellectual and sensual pleasures - mill thinks we have a sense of dignity which has us prefer intellectual pleasures > sensual ones

Answer 42

Rules - specific statements that must be followed - come from principles Principles - vague statements of value that need to be respected and paid attention to

Answer 43

1. Act - determine what is good in each circumstance and then do what is good - Principle based 2. Rule - circumstances are predetermined and less specific - The 'rules' that come from the principle are determined for you - does not allow for unique circumstances (rules restrict exceptions)

Answer 44

Act - if you plan on giving a homeless person money and they say they will buy alcohol with it, you can take back your decision as you now know that your money offering will do more harm than good Rule - Sharing money with the poor is good Universal - no one can back out of doing something good

Answer 45

No - bec being a utilitarian can mean having to sacrifice for the good of others

Answer 46

Emphasis is on duty and principles, not outcomes (intentions/reasons over the final outcome)

Answer 47

- we should act in a way that we would want everyone else to act in the same situation, regardless of our personal desires or interests - ex. You stop lying because you believe that no one should lie, thus they do not

Answer 48

- Act so that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or that of another, always as an end and never as a means only - Treat each person as individual person - our actions should always be guided by the principle that we are treating others with respect and recognizing their inherent worth as human beings.

Answer 49

Lying to patients family - Patient with HIV - Lying would preserve family love and honour - Truth telling could cause family rift Categorical imperative - lying is wrong because you could not universalize lying as good Practical - lying deprives the patient of their entitled role and treats them as a means to the end (supportive family, comfortable death)

Answer 50

1. Principle of Autonomy & Respect for Persons 2. Principle of Impossibility 3. Principle of Fidelity or Right Action 4. Principle of Equality & Justice 5. Principle of Beneficence 6. Principle of Non-Malfeasance

Answer 51

You have the right to self-determination - only disobeyed when you use that right to violate others right to self-determination

Answer 52

Rights & duties are invalid if they are impossible (duty to save the life of the terminal patient

Answer 53

You have a duty to perform your obligations to the best of your abilities Fidelity - adhering to the assigned mission

Answer 54

Doing your duty without discriminating others

Answer 55

Do good things

Answer 56

Do no harm

Answer 57

1. Autonomy 2. Beneficence 3. Non-maleficence 4. Justice

Answer 58

1. Theory of utility; Wellbeing - what makes life good for people 2. Principle - what should we do about this, how do we produce the best wellbeing/happiness

Answer 59

- Pleasure is the only component of happiness - Pain and suffering is the only component of unhappiness - The best life is one with a balance of pleasure > pain

Answer 60

Hedonism was attacked for being philosophy of swine (reduced humans to the level of animals) Maximizing element - Producing the maximum benefit and the greatest good has implications: It requires that you do bad things to bring about the greatest good

Answer 61

Thinking 'yuk' about an ethical issue (ie. cannibalism) - represents disgust

Answer 62

The disgust reactions are evolutionarily programmed to protect us from adverse situations - i.e repulsion to incest Can be genetic or it can be learned due to socialization

Answer 63

Can be overly cautious due to yuk factor Ex. throw up after eating broccoli once, so you hate broccoli now

Answer 64

- For utilitarianism, an action is right if and only if it produces the best possible consequences; - for Kant, an action is morally good if it is determined by a principle of pure reason, irrespective of the consequences - It is hoped that the consequences of good actions are good too

Answer 65

Claims that both theories pay insufficient attention to character - The best action is not the one that produce the best consequences or meets an obligation, it is the one that would be carried out by a virtuous person

Answer 66

- Relates of the concept of virtue to other concepts; knowledge and happiness - Persuades ppl that virtue consists in knowledge and that human happiness is constituted to virtue

Answer 67

Virtuous disposition is one that leads you to feel feelings that are appropriate at that time Ex. will feel the right amount of anger at the right time to the right people 2 vices - 1 excess and1 deficiency Ex. vice of deficiency = should feel angry and you don't, that's a Vice of excess = Feel angry when you shouldn't

Answer 68

If you have any virtue you have practical wisdom, if you have pratcical wisdom you have all of the virtues

Answer 69

We should never interfere with a person's freedom except in 3 situations: 1) The person who is acting autonomously does not understand what is happening - ie. You cross a bridge and know it will collapse so you inform the person about to walk on the bridge that it will collapse 2) He/she is going to harm you 3) He/she is going to harm another person

Answer 70

1. free action 2. effective deliberations 3. authenticity 4. moral reflection

Answer 71

Can be limited by internal or external forces - Internal; restricted by a physical limitation (ie. born with a medical condition that restricts you) - External; the consequences of doing an action are so severe that it is not worth the risk/consequence to do the act Autonomy is not automatic; you must demonstrate the ability to self-rule Society sets standards and limits by saying what is “poor” and “reasonable” self-rule

Answer 72

When you make decisions, you put thought into them A person “ruling himself” shows good judgment Good = reasoned (logical, sensible, intelligible) Always happen before and when you work through factual context (what the decision will entail) Ineffective deliberations can be caused by: 1) Misinformation (deception, lies) - Manipulate someone into making a different choice than they wanted to 2) Missing information 3) Mental/cognitive issues (delusions, compulsions)

Answer 73

You being who you truly are, freed from external and internal constraints You do what you want to - block out other people who influence your decisions

Answer 74

- Autonomy involves being able to clearly articulate your values - Evaluating and knowing the details of what is happening and how you feel about the situation

Answer 75

ED is considered before an action Moral reflection is after something is already done - would I do that again?

Answer 76

1) Be reasonably informed 2) Be allowed to make our own decisions 3) Have those decisions respected

Answer 77

No set standard cannot be fully informed - hard to teach a patient everything about an illness and procedure to the extent that the healthcare professional knows it

Answer 78

in ethical discussions a threshold is that place where you cross from right to wrong or wrong to right

Answer 79

Consent must: 1. Relate to the treatment 2. Be informed 3. Be given voluntarily 4. Not be obtained through misrepresentation HCCA,1996, Sec.11(1)

Answer 80

Nature of treatment Expected benefits Material risks Material side effects Alternatives Likely consequences

Answer 81

Physician have a primary responsibility for ensuring that such communication occurs --> there is no stated limit to how much effort you must put into helping a patient understand the procedure they are going to offer/decline consent to

Answer 82

1) provide patients with all reasonable data - If a doctor tells you that there is a 1 /100 chance that you will die during a CT scan, you can feel reassured in still deicing to get scanned 2) possible alternatives 3) risks of all possible procedures 4) without coercion - Do not make a patient feel bad if they make a decision that is different from one you would make yourself 5) Encourage patients to make their own decisions 6) restrict your comments to your area of expertise

Answer 83

Telling a lie that benefits the deceived person - morally right

Answer 84

Lying to save your own ass is not a noble lie according to Plato

Answer 85

- Community members lied in 20% of their social interactions; students 33% - Lying was more common in phone calls than in face-to-face chats - 1 in 7 lies was discovered as far as the liars could tell - 1/10 of the lies were merely exaggerations while 60% were outright deceptions --> most of the rest were subtle lies often of omission - > 70% of liars would tell their lies again.

Answer 86

1) False Positives 2) False Negatives

Answer 87

- Lies in which people pretend to like something/someone more than they actually do - These are told more frequently bc we are concerned as to how people perceive us - 20-30x more common than false negative lies

Answer 88

Lies in which people try to present a lesser opinion on something/someone - denies something that is actually true ex. student tells their parent they passed a test when they actually failed

Answer 89

Commision - to commit a lie Omission - leave something out to intentionally create the wrong image in someone's head

Answer 90

1) History of patient misuse and abuse 2) Rise of individualism and commercialization - People are more aware of their rights - Ppl view themselves as “consumers” of health care products 3) Rise of “informed” patients

Answer 91

Emphasize beneficence and truth was dependent on patient welfare - From a strongly paternalistic/maternalistic model to a “more autonomous” patient model

Answer 92

- Patients who remain uninformed about their condition may fail to obtain medical attention when they should - may also make decisions affecting their lives that they would not make if they were aware of their condition - telling patients their diagnosis early in the course of a serious illness (ie. MS) can be helpful because "some people find comfort in the knowledge that doctors can name their problem." - reaction to the truth is much less negative then feared

Answer 93

-supreme court of Canada says yes but narrow exceptions Ex. when the patient's emotional condition is such that the disclosure of bad news could cause harm

Ethical Theory Flashcards

(117 cards)