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Health Sci 2610 > Ethical Theory > Flashcards

Ethical Theory Flashcards

1
Q

What is the “baloney detection kit”?

A

A set of cognitive tools and techniques that protect the mind from being infiltrated by false information
- the kit contains tools of healthy skepticism
- by adopting the kit, we protect ourselves against
manipulation

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2
Q

What are the tools involved in the detection kit?

A
  1. There should be independent conformation of the facts
  2. Encourage debate on evidence where all perspectives are represented by individuals
  3. Arguments from authority carry little weight - in science there are no authorities, only experts
  4. Produce more than 1 hypothesis
  5. Do not get attached to a hypothesis bc it is your own. (compare it with more alternatives)
  6. Quantify (makes it easier to compare)
  7. If there is a change in argument, every link in the chain must work
  8. Occams Razor - select the hypothesis that explain data by choosing the simpler one
  9. Ask if the hypothesis can be falsified. (untestable and unfalsified hypothesis are not valuable)
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3
Q

What are the common ways to recognize false logic?

A
  1. Attack the arguer and not the argument (Ad hominem)
  2. Argument from authority (ie. trust the president bc he is the president)
  3. Argument from adverse consequences (ie. the defender in a murder trial must be guilt or else other men will kill their wives)
  4. Appeal to ignorance - absence of evidence is not evidence of absence
  5. Special pleading - rescue a proposition in trouble
  6. Begging the question/assuming the answer (ie. imposing the death penalty to discourage violent crime, but does the violent crime rate fall when the death penalty was imposed)
  7. Observational selection/enumeration of favourable circumstances (count the hits and forget the misses)
  8. Stats of small #’s (ie. ive already won 3 times now so i wont lose)
  9. Misunderstanding nature of stats
  10. Inconsistency (attribute declining life expectancy in the soviet union to failures of communism but never attribute high infant mortality rates to failures of capitalism)
  11. People fail to recognize alternative possibilities
  12. It happened after so it was caused by…
  13. Meaningless questions
  14. Excluded, middle, or false dichotomy - considering only 2 extremes in a continuum of intermediate possibilities
  15. Short-term vs. long-term - a subset of the excluded middle is so important that it received attention (ie. why explore space if we have a budget deficit)
  16. Slippery slope - (ie. if we allow abortion in the 1st weeks of pregnancy, it will be impossible to prevent the killing of a full-term infant)
  17. Confusion of correlation and causation (ie. survey shows that more graduates are homosexual than those with lesser education, thus education makes people gay)
  18. Straw man - mimicking a position to make it easiest to attack (environmentalists care more for spotted owls than they do for people)
  19. Suppress evidence or half truths (ie. a prophecy of an assassination attempt is televise, bit was it recorded before or after the event)
  20. Weasel words (Politicians rename institutions that have become unpopular under their original names, as a strategic tactic)
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4
Q

What is the difference between descriptive and prescriptive ethics?

A

Descriptive ethics
- describes the state of affairs of a group and explains what they do
- does not judge the right/wrongness of an action
- only describes situations to understand the context
- ex. how students feel about using proctor
Prescriptive
- do something to make it “right” or better
- takes a position on the right/wrongness of behaviour
- ex. students should not cheat on exams and the use of proctor is not a reason to cheat

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5
Q

What is morality?

A

The view of right and wrong shared by a group of people
- public opinion of right and wrong

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6
Q

Prescriptive ethics vs morality?

A

Prescriptive ethics judges a behaviour as “good” or “bad” or ethical/unethical
- always has to provide reasoning → not based on a popular opinion like mortality

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7
Q

What is the method to ethics?

A
  1. Foundational concepts (meta-ethics) +
  2. (facts/evidence/context) +
  3. A theory (a framework/structure you choose based on how it relates to your experience/how accurate you perceive it to be)
    = an ethical prescription
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8
Q

What is meta-ethics?

A

Talks about ethics, not ethical issues - talks about the theory not application
- Takes place ‘outside; ethics - occurs before actual ethical discussion about a subject can begin –> look at foundational key values before applying judgments

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9
Q

Examples of Meta-ethical questions:

A

What is right and wrong?
How can someone know fright from wrong?
Why behave ethically in the 1st place?
Where does moral authority come from?
Is there a universal moral truth?

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10
Q

What is realism?

A

A universal ethical truth (facts)
- ethical truths are real and if we have not figured out what the truth is, it does not make it any less real
ex. art - painting a realistic photo of someone trying to make it look as real as possible

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11
Q

What is anti-realism?

A
  • denies that a universal truth exists (no objective truth)
  • Ethics are subjects or products of humans in certain places and time
  • Ethics are socially-constructed - not objectively real or universal
  • It exists - but humans created
  • Does not deal with facts, deals with explanations of how to coexist with other people
  • Each society has own values - not one value for everyone
  • Ethics is not a fact based science
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12
Q

What is a fact (description)?

A
  • Facts are descriptive ethics
  • What is or is/was or was not factually the case
  • ex. the earth is not flat
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13
Q

What is value (normativity)?

A
  • Stating what it is
  • Value is what should we do/ should we not do (What should/should not be done) (ie. should NOT kill)
  • Normativity says what should be the case (ie. should go to jail for murder)
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14
Q

Characteristics of Statements of Value

A

Does not include statements of truth or falsity
- you can NOT disprove value
- Something that is scientifically valid and something that is fact is not equal

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15
Q

2 Types of Statements of Value

A
  1. Aesthetic (Aesthesis: to do with sense)
    (Preferring certain flavours over others)
  2. Moral - the value you attach to questions and actions in terms of right or wrong
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16
Q

What is a fundamental tension in ethics?

A

Tensions - disagreements that exists b/w people who have the same ethical orientation (they agree on method)

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17
Q

What are the 6 deceptions in twitter

A
  1. Confirmation bias
  2. Genetic fallacy
  3. Ad hominem
  4. Bifurcation
  5. Appeal to authority
  6. Questionable cause
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18
Q

What is a confirmation bias?

A

Cognitive bias (how our brains process), not a logical fallacy (error in reasoning)
- Looking for confirmation/justification of your existing beliefs
- Not looking for an objectively supported answer

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19
Q

What is a genetic fallacy?

A

Dismissing arguments bc of their source with no other reasons
- Ex. dismissing a guest speaker because of the way they look/stereotypes against them

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20
Q

What is an Ad Hominem?

A

Responding to or posing an argument based on criticisms of a person or group representing an opposing view
- Responding to an argument with a personal attac
- target the person making the argument rather than the argument itself

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21
Q

What is a bifurcation?

A

Suggests that complex situations must be divided into binary positions on an issue
- Feel forced to be 100% on one side but almost never the case - usually never a perfect answer
- when an issue is presented as if it only has 2 outcomes when there are in fact other possibilities

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22
Q

What is an Appeal to authority?

A

When someone bases his/her argument on his/her knowledge or experience, not evidence

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23
Q

What is a Questionable cause?

A

occurs when an arguer provides insufficient evidence for a claim that something caused something else - do NOT provide evidence of the cause

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24
Q

3 Types of Questionable Cause?

A
  1. Post hoc fallacy
  2. Mere correlation fallacy
  3. Oversimplified cause fallacy
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25
Q

What is Post hoc fallacy?

A

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)

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26
Q

What is a Mere correlation fallacy?

A

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

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27
Q

What is an Oversimplified cause fallacy?

A

Assume something caused something without any reason

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28
Q

What is ethics?

A
  • 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
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29
Q

Objective VS. Reality of Ethics?

A

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

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30
Q

How does ethics differ from law?

A

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

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31
Q

What are the 3 Meta-Ethical Approaches?

A
  1. Ethical objectivism
  2. Ethical relativism
  3. Ethical non cognitivism
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32
Q

What is ethical objectivism?

A
  1. Right and wrong are “objective phenomena”
  2. There are “moral facts”
  3. Ethics is “objective in nature”
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33
Q

1st part of ethical objectivism?

A
  • 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
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34
Q

2nd Part of ethical objectivism?

A

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

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35
Q

What are the Tenets of Objectivism?

A
  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
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36
Q

What is ethical naturalism?

A

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

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37
Q

What is Non-naturalism?

A

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

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38
Q

What is ethical relativism?

A

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

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39
Q

3 Scopes of Ethical Relativism?

A
  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
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40
Q

What is Ethical non-cognitivism?

A

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

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41
Q

Why do we use ethical theory?

A
  • To bring perspective to experience
  • To provide moral guidance that is: 1) Clear, 2) Rational, 3) Systematic, 4) Defensible
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42
Q

What are requirements for ethical theory ?

A
  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
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43
Q

What is Psychological egoism (descriptive)?

A
  • 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.
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44
Q

What is Ethical egoism (prescriptive) ?

A

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.

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45
Q

What is the difference between Psychological and Ethical egoism?

A

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

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46
Q

Who is Ayn Rand?

A

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

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47
Q

Peter Singer

A

Not consistent with beliefs

48
Q

Richard John Neuhaus

A

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?

49
Q

Consequentalism

A

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?

50
Q

Critiques on Consequentalism?

A
  • 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
51
Q

Consequentialism linked to utilitarianism?

A
  • 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.
52
Q

What is non-consequentalism?

A

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

53
Q

What are the 2 concerns Non Consequentialists have with consequentialism?

A
  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
54
Q

Do consequentialists follow law?

A

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

55
Q

What is Normativity?

A
  • 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
56
Q

What is a normative concept?

A

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

57
Q

What is relativism?

A

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

58
Q

What is Moral relativism?

A

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

59
Q

Can moral relative debates be disputed?

A

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

60
Q

Benefits of moral relativism?

A
  • Circumstances matter in ethical situations
    (ex. speeding but there is an emergency situation)
  • Absolutists do not consider circumstances
61
Q

What is Utalitarianism?

A

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

62
Q

Who is Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832)

A
  • 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
63
Q

Felicific Calculus - Benthams Theory

A

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

64
Q

7 Scales of the Felicific Equation

A
  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?
65
Q

Who is John Stuart Mill (1806-1873)

A
  • 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
66
Q

Rules VS. Principles

A

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

67
Q

2 Different ways of applying the principle of utility

A
  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)
68
Q

Examples of Act VS. Rule

A

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

69
Q

Is Utilitarianism the same as Egoism?

A

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

70
Q

What is deontology?

A

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

71
Q

Categorical Imperative (Kant)

A
  • 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
72
Q

Practical Imperative

A
  • 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.
73
Q

Applying categorical and practical imperative

A

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)

74
Q

Deontologists agree on 6 Principles of Good Action

A
  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
75
Q

Principle of Autonomy & Respect for Persons

A

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

76
Q

Principle of Impossibility

A

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

77
Q

Principle of Fidelity or Right Action

A

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

78
Q

Principle of Equality & Justice

A

Doing your duty without discriminating others

79
Q

Principle of Beneficence

A

Do good things

80
Q

Principle of Non-Malfeasance

A

Do no harm

81
Q

4 Ethical Principles in Healthcare

A
  1. Autonomy
  2. Beneficence
  3. Non-maleficence
  4. Justice
82
Q

2 components of utilitarianism

A
  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
83
Q

Hedonistic View

A
  • 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
84
Q

Mills criticism on utilitarianism

A

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

85
Q

Yuk Factor

A

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

86
Q

Why do we have a ‘yuk’ factor

A

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

87
Q

Problem with yuk factor

A

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

88
Q

Utilitarianism vs Kantianism

A
  • 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
89
Q

Virtue Ethics

A

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

90
Q

Plato’s View of Virtue

A
  • 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
91
Q

Aristotles view on virtue

A

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

92
Q

Aristotles Practical Wisdom

A

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

93
Q

What did J.S. Mill say about autonomy?

A

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

94
Q

4 aspects of autonomy

A
  1. free action
  2. effective deliberations
  3. authenticity
  4. moral reflection
95
Q

Free Action

A

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

96
Q

Effective Deliberation

A

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)

97
Q

Authenticity

A

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

98
Q

Moral reflection

A
  • 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
99
Q

Difference between ethical deliberations and moral reflections?

A

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

100
Q

Informed Consent

A

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

101
Q

What is fully informed consent?

A

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

102
Q

Threshold concept

A

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

103
Q

Health Care Consent Act (HCCA) 1996

A

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)

104
Q

Consent checklist according to HCCA act?

A

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

105
Q

Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada rules

A

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

106
Q

6 things that constitute informed consent?

A

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

107
Q

The Noble Lie

A

Telling a lie that benefits the deceived person - morally right

108
Q

What is a noble lie NOT?

A

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

109
Q

Prevalence of lying stats

A
  • 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.
110
Q

2 Types of Lies

A

1) False Positives
2) False Negatives

111
Q

False positives

A
  • 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
112
Q

False negatives

A

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

113
Q

Difference between lies by omission and commision?

A

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

114
Q

Why has autonomy become such a strong concern in health care?

A

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

115
Q

What is the traditional approach to treating patients?

A

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

116
Q

Why is ‘protecting the patient from the truth’ a problem?

A
  • 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
117
Q

Exception for truth telling?

A

-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

Health Sci 2610 (2 decks)

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