W7a Ethics Flashcards
- Discuss the major categories of ethical frameworks - Discuss the relationship between professionalism, ethics and the law. - Discuss the relevance of ethics to the Veterinary Profession - Define moral distress and discuss strategies for coping with and preventing moral distress.
What is the contractarian ethical view? give an example
the idea that ethical obligations originate from mutual agreements or contracts between people e.g. we should care about animal welfare because consumers want it and we want to sell products
What is the utilitarian ethical view? give an example
the greatest good for the greatest amount of people, in deciding what to do we must consider the potential benefits for humans, the results matter more than the individuals effected e.g. some animal research may be justified by its importance and it may help us find cures
What is the relational ethical view? give an example
the idea that our duties to animals depends on our relationship between us and them, we have special duties to domestic animals and less so to wild animals e.g. dog is mans best friend so should be treated better than animals in farms and labs
What is the animal rights ethical view? give an example
the idea that fixed ethical rules place limits on the treatments of animals, there are some things that should never be permitted no matter what the circumstances, some may say animals have just as many rights as humans e.g. animal testing is unacceptable regardless of the potential benefits involved
What is the respect for nature ethical view? give an example
the idea that we have not just a duty to individual animals but the species they belong to, each species is of value e.g. nature must take its course, we should leave animals they way evolution made them, endangered species need to be protected
what is moral dilemma?
when conflict exists between different actions where choosing between either option will result in moral transgression by precluding the other e.g. breaching client confidentiality in the interests of averting a diseas outbreak
what is moral distress?
a feeling of unease where misalignment exists between moral principles and an institutionally enforced course of action, can result from acting or witnessing
provide some examples of how to deal with moral dilemmas/distress:
any of:
- look for guidelines e.g. RCVS
- write it down (may provide clarification)
- seek evidence e.g. textbooks
- seek professional advice e.g. seniors
- phone a friend
- counselling e.g. vetlife
- develop a self-care plan (healthy work-life balance)
who are the five duties of a vet to?
the animal, the client, the profession, society and themselves
what is aesculapian authority?
it is conferred on those individuals in which society perceives as healers and medical experts, vets are viewed by society as the moral authority in medicine
what is the idea of a social contract as a vet?
that society places trust in us based upon our experience, expertise and judgement, as part of this we have a duty to uphold this, governed by the RCVS and Vet Surgeons Act 1966
what is ethics1 (Rollins 2006)?
morality - set of beliefs that society, individuals or subgroups hold about:
- what is right vs wrong
- good vs bad
- fair vs unfair
- justice vs injustice
- contradictory/conflicting beliefs
what is ethics2 (Rollins 2006)?
study of ethics1 - logical study and analysis of ethics1, branch of philosophy, how ethics1 propositions are justified, are they consistent and how to address any conflicts between this
describe the traditional ethical theory of consequentialism:
the rightness or wrongness of an action can be found in their consequences e.g. utilitarianism ‘the greatest good for the greatest number’, requires you to define what ‘good’ is or minimise ‘bad’
describe the traditional ethical theory of deontology:
the rightness or wrongness of an action is found in the action itself regardless of the consequences
