What is ethics A branch of philosophy Concerned
What is ethics? • A branch of philosophy • Concerned with questions of how people ought to act, the search for a definition of right conduct (causing the greatest good) and the good life (a life worth living or one that is satisfying or happy). • An everyday question • How should I live? • How should I act?
Ethics An innate knowledge of what is right and wrong. e. g. How to behave in a library. Morals Values The judgement of the rightness or wrongness of human actions and character. This is more subjective and is personal based. Important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about what is good or bad and desirable and undesirable Often used interchangeably EXAMPLE: You are a kid in the schoolyard. You see a bully. He thinks he is the “top dog. ” That is fine. That perception is a value. When the bully picks on and/or punches the other kid – this is wrong and must be stopped. You see the bully picking on the other kid. You feel – in your gut – that this is wrong. Congratulations, you are moral. (By the way, most people are moral – they know the difference between right and wrong) Now…you see the bully picking on the other kid. You overcome the embarrassment, and you go tell a teacher. Congratulations! You are ethical. (Ethics are moral values in action).
Bioethics – a field of ethics • An application of ethics to the science and practice of biology • Addresses questions concerning morals, values and social responsibility relating to research and practices in biology. • A paper called the Declaration of Helsinki was released in 1964, providing ethical principles for the protection of human subjects of biomedical and behavioural research.
Ethical principles • Individual Rights • You decide your own course of action • Beneficence • A duty to do more good than harm • Non-maleficence • The duty to not cause harm • Justice and equity • Fair, equitable and appropriate treatment for all
- Slides: 5