ethics for vet teams Flashcards
ethics1 vs ethics2
1; right vs wrong
2; study of 1
utilitarianism
- looks at consequences
- focused on outcomes
- most ethical choice is one that will produce greatest good for greatest number
- considers all stakeholders, costs, benefits and numbers
- accounts for interests of the majority
problems with utilitarianism
- predicting outcomes
- can justify immoral means
- debate about what is greatest good
- can justify gross inequality
- doesn’t recognize rights of individual
- ignore motivation; favours the lucky fool
deontology
- looks at the intent
- a choice or action is right if it conforms with a moral norm
- some choices morally forbidden
- thought that counts
- right is prioritized over good (ex if its not right to lie, outcome doesn’t matter even if its good, it is not right)
- encompasses individual rights
limitations of deontology
- no context; doesn’t take conrexr itno account
- inflexible
- absurd
non-maleficence
do no harm
beneficence
do good
autonomy
allow animals to be self governing
justice
treat all animals and people fairly and equally
principalism
- non maleficence, beneficence, autonomy, justice
- emphasis on harm minimization
- promoting good
- requires disclosure of info that fosters autonomous devision making
- treats stakeholders fairly
limitations of principilism
- autonomy is hard to apply to animals
- most interventions involve some harm
- applications of justice to animals is challening
- hard to weigh different pinciples
virtue ethics
- virtue= character trait that is reliably present in an individual
- moral virtue is such a trait that is morally valuable
some virtue ethics needed as a vet
compassion, discernment, trustworthiness, integrity, conscientiousness
virtue ethics emphasizes:
- personal development
- practical wisdom
- questioning of personal values and motives
- how to translate intentions into actions
- mentoring, role modelling
virtue ethics pros
- holistic
- role-based
- emphasis on personal development
virtue ethics cons
- conflict between different virtues ex honesty, loyalty etc
- good people can make bad decisions; when are they not virtuous
what is “the matrix”
a table with a checklist of concerns, lists all the stakeholders
columns consist of
- well being (utilitarianism)
- autonomy (deontology)
- justice (principilism)
pros of the matrix
- checklist of concerns
- may identify KEY concerns
- analysis from different stakeholder perspectives
- designed by scientists for scientists
cons of the matrix
- not a decision tool but may be confused as one
- problems don’t slot into boxes
- hard to adjudicate when conflict of interest occurs
- limited by parameters of issues raised
what do ethical disagreements include
- Factual disagreements
- Disagreements resulting form insufficiency info or evidence
- Disagreement about which norms or rules are applicable or relevant in the circumstance
- Disagreement about the relative weights or ranking of the relevant norms
- Disagreement about appropriate forms of specification or balance
- Presence of genuine moral dilemmas
- Scope disagreements about who should be protected by a moral norm
- Conceptual disagreements about a crucial moral norm
working in accordance with your values is NOT about
being right
