Exam 1 Flashcards
1
Q
word breakdown of Philosophy
A
philo = love
sophia = knowledge
philosophy = love of wisdom
2
Q
Main branches of Philosophy
A
Logic - study of formed of reasoning/argument
Metaphysics - study of ultimate reality
Epistemology - study of knowledge
Ethics - morality
3
Q
Morality meaning
A
the domain of right and wrong
- what we OUGHT or OUGHT NOT to do
- how we should act and live
4
Q
Ethics meaning
A
Study of morality
- set of guidelines for right action
5
Q
Medical Ethics meaning
A
the philosophical study or moral problems as they relate to health care … and applied ethics
6
Q
Moral theory definition
A
- tool that is used to determine the right or wrongness of an action
- framework or moral compass
- explain and justify
7
Q
Jeremy Bentham
A
founder of utilitarianism
- what is right is that which makes you happy and avoids pain
- called UTILITY
8
Q
John Stuart Mill
A
Modern interpretation of utilitarianism
- utility was the right making feature of an action, does it provide the most good for people
- states pleasures have different weights and are not equal
- lower and higher pleasures
9
Q
Utilitarian basic parts (3)
A
- Consequentialism
- Welfarism
- Equality
10
Q
Consequntalism
A
the only thing that matters is the outcome, determines the moral right or wrongness
- quality
11
Q
Welfarism
A
The consequences that matter are the ones that affect everyone’s welfare (quality of life)
- Happiness and pleasure
- Everyone’s happiness on the same level
12
Q
Equality
A
Each person’s happiness counts equally but does not mean everyone gets equal happiness
- goal: maximize overall happiness
- does not mean that people always get the same amount, ignore the distribution when trying to maximize its total sum
13
Q
Types of Consequentalism
A
Act
- each individual action should seek to promote the greatest welfare for the greatest number (RIGHT NOW)
Rule
- each individual action should conform to rules which promote the greatest welfare for the greatest number (OVER THE LONG RUN)
14
Q
Pros of Utilitarianism
A
- Animals have moral values
- anything that has feelings - Theory is impartial
- take everyone into consideration - Theory is flexible
- depending on the situation - Theory is intuitive
- go with what is best
15
Q
Cons of Utilitarianism
A
- Theory appears to justify some counter intuitive cases
- doing something bad to prevent others from pain - Theory does not take in consideration personal relationships
- does not weigh in people one is close with - Can be hard to calculate utility
- how do you calculate empathy or love? - Theory does not allow for rights
- if it is better for the people, utilitarianists will override rights
16
Q
Rules with NO exceptions
A
a rule that stipulates that a given action is always impermissible, no matter what
- assumes there are “moral absolutes” - right thing to do and that is what you should do
17
Q
Sources of rule based Ethics (2)
A
- Philosophy
- Religion
18
Q
Religion exceptionless rules
A
- rules that are grounded in the authority of a deity
- morally good action is one that is commanded by God
- Divine Command Theory
19
Q
Autonomy - Kant
A
Moral law is within you
20
Q
Kantian basics
A
- rationality is most important moral feature
- we can choose to do the right thing, even if we don’t desire
- SENSE OF DUTY
- conform to absolute or universal moral principles
21
Q
Categorical Imperatives formulas (2)
A
- Act only according to the maxim that you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law
- Act in such a way that you treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never merely as a means to an end (can’t use people)
22
Q
Pros of rule-based ethics
A
- Theory relies on absolute prinicple rather than on context
- only actions based on moral principle everyne is willed to - They do not rely on trying to ascertain th epossible consequences of acts
- never ask the outcome, always do what is right - Rely on obedience or rationality rather than emotion of whim
- emotions have no place, only reasoning - They do not conflict with justice or rights
- you have a right, that everyone else has an obligation to not infringe
23
Q
Aristotle idea on ethics
A
our goal in life is virtuous activity, full flourishment of human
24
Q
Moral evaluations - virtue ethics
A
- consider character
- ignores the consequences or duty
- emphasis less on what to do and more on who to be
25
Goal of virtue ethics
be happy, happiness is the one thing you don't want for other reasons
1. shelter/food
2. friends
3. intellectual and moral
26
List of some virtues
- courage
- truthfulness
- modesty
- patience
- Temperence - ability to control desires
- charity
- liberality
27
Balance of virtues
The golden mean
- right balance between two extremes of any virtue
28
Learning to be virtuous
- develop virtuous habits through pracitce
- model virtuous people
29
Pros of Virtue Ethics
1. Theory focuses on the importance of the development of good people to create a good society
- rather than rules and punishment
2. Theory is useful because we are often more interested in determining the moral character of a person rather than actions
3. Theory incorporated the whole human life
- to live well, must be virtuous
30
Cons of Virtue Ethics
1. Concept of virtue is unclear
- who decides what the virtues are?
2. Theory fails to properly cover cases where there are conflicts between virtues
- honesty and kindness
3. Theory says that being virtuous is necessary for living a good life
- is that true?
31
Lawrence Kohlberg
Tried figuring out the moral development of young people
- boys answer: don't steal, don't break laws
- girls answer: saw complexity, asking other questions about loans, family support, administration
- Boys answer was considered right in his eyes
32
Carol Gilligan
Founder of care ethics
- boys and girls just have different set of ethics
33
Basics of care ethics
- looks at person relationships as the source of moral value
- source of care itself is natural empathy
34
Aspects of care ethics
1. Care exemplifies in interactions between intimates
2. care is situated within relationships
3. care appeals to emotion
4. not a rule-based account - an act is right if it comes from care and concern for others
5. the right actions become clear only in the context of focused attention to the immediate situation and all the relationships involved
6. focuses on people as social beings
35
Pros of care ethics
1. theory is based on the impulse to care
2. theory doesn't rely on any abstract moral principle
3. theory allows for emotions and sentiments as real ethical precepts
36
Cons of care ethics
1. Theory doesn't appear sufficiently tough, does not tell someone what to do
- can't be analyzed in principle
2. Might collapse into virtue ethics?
- add empathy as a virtue, is it the same?
3. Theory has often been used to explain moral differences among genders
- but are men and women really different?
4. Theory is not sufficiently impartial
37
Consent and medical ethics
- patient needs to consent to be worked on or seen
- heart of medicine
38
Autonomy and Consent Basics
- what does it mean to treat someone with autonomy/ to give informed consent?
- wall between patient and provider
- wall between people and government
- my right to X, means you have an obligation to Y
39
Autonomy meaning
- from the Greek: auto = self, nomos = law
- a person's autonomy is their capacity to decide for themselves what is in their best interest
- to set aside a person's autonomy is to treat someone paternalistically or parentalistically
40
Informed Consent
Patient may be said to give informed consent to a health care provider, if:
1. the patient is competent - whether verbal or written, patient must be able to give consent
2. patients understands the treatment
3. patients consent is not coerced
41
Informed consent and autonomy
the notion of informed consent assumes that patients should be treated autonomously
42
Mills position on Autonomy
question: "under what circumstances may we restrict a person's autonomy?"
- only under the circumstance which that person's actions would harms another person: THE HARM PRINCIPLE
- we may force someone to do what is in the best interest of society: serving in the army
43
Mill argues against individual use of autonomy
- we can't force someone to do something that is in another's private, individual interest
- we own ourselves, our mind, and bodies
44
Dr. Robert Smith theory on consent and removing well limbs
- patients desire to remove well limbs from body, there are no disorders mentally or paraphilia
- since patients have no brain injuries and are mentally stable, they are able to give consent
- if doctor says no to patients, they are a greater health risk and will find a way to remove the limb themselves
45
Common Sense View
- Where does common sense bottom out?
- what makes one different from the other - from a moral standpoint - getting a tattoo or taking heroin
46
Consent as a new idea
- not grounded in the history of medical ethics
- Recently, consent was reversed for controversial or exotic treatments
47
Typical consent model
1. patient seeks treatment
2. Doctor, in seeking to do what is in the patients' best interest
3. patients does/doesn't consent
48
Veatch's critique on the consent model
Clinicians can't be expected to be able to calculate all the following
- what is best for the patients medica interest
- how a patient should trade off health interest with other interests
- how to help the patient related their interest to other moral goals
49
What is Well-Being
Axiology - theory of good or valuable
1. hedonistic theories: what is in the person's best interest is what would make that person the happiest
2. Desire-fulfillment theories: what is the person's best interest is what would fulfill their desire (may not be happiness)
3. Objective list theories: what is in a person's best interest are things which are or bad for a person regardless of that person's attitudes towards them
50
Veatch's main conclusions
- choose the best theory of the good, there is still no reason to assume that a health professional can be expected to know how to promote it
- patients don't want to just maximize health, but also total well-being
- doctors can't be expected t know either the total good or even the medical good for a person
51
Overall well-being and consent
Veatch: "if the clinician can't be expected to figure out what is best for the patient, then they can't obtain a valid consent to a recommended treatment
52
Deep Value Pairings
- choose a doctor that holds the same values as you
- your doctor has to know more about you
53
Science of logic
- study of forms of reasoning
- branch of philosophy
- argument is not a dispute or fight
54
What is an argument
- set of sentences called premises that offers support for the conclusion
- cannot be true or false?
- single sentence is a claim or assertion
55
Good arguments from bad
1. is this an argument at all? or is it just a claim
2. if it is an argument, then are all the premises true?
3. if the premises are true, then do they support the conclusions
56
Moral Relativism
the claim that facts about right and wrong vary with, and are dependent on social and cultural background
- Kant would say no, morality is absolute
- Mill would say yes
57
Implications of Moral Reltavism
- not necessarily good
- might claim that slavery wasn't wrong back then
- moral relativist might claim:
Premise: different cultures have different moral systems based on those cultures
Conclusion: so, there is no objective moral truth
- premises are true, but the transition from premise to conclusion fails
- premise doesn't deliver the truth of the conclusion
58
Validity
- argument is not valid when the conclusion can be false even if the premises are true
59
Ruth Macklin
- argues for cultural relativism
- cultures have different moral codes, and that it results in different medical practices
- doesn't claim that those practices are right or wrong for those cultures
60
Autonomy and other cultures
- autonomy is not the primary value of other cultures
- culture where autonomy is not a primary value a person might not want to know he truth about their conditions, it seems that we are not honoring that person by telling them the truth
61
Macklin doesn't say...
- doesn't say that we should or shouldn't hold autonomy as the primary value for consent
62
Treating a patient with autonomy does not
- does not require truth telling about their condition, but it does seem to require agreeing for you to tell them
