HP101 Exam 2 Study Guide

Moral deductivism

The method of moral reasoning in which one deduces judgements about particular cases from (what is belived to be) the true or correct ethical theory, along with relevant emperical facts

Moral Nihilism

The view that there are no true/correct moral standards, and so no actions/traits are right/wrong or good/bad

The Four Principles Approach

- Principle of Respect for Autonomy

- Principle of Nonmaleficence

- Principle of Beneficence

- Principle of Justice

Principle of Respect for Autonomy

Core ethical principle that states that autonomous people should be able to make their own decisions

- HCPs should obtain patients' informed consent for medical procedures, maintain patient confidentiality, not deceive patients, communicate well with patients

Principle of Nonmaleficence

The ethical obligation to do no unnecessary harm

- HCPs should not injure patients deliberately or through recklessness, negligence, or inexcusable ignorance

Principle of Beneficence

The ethical obligation to act in ways that benefit others

Principle of Justice

The idea that people should be treated fairly and equally, and that all have access to the same rights and opportunities

Absolute Principle/ Duty

One that is binding in all occasions, without exception

Prima Facie Principle/ Duty

One that is binding unless it conflicts with equal or stronger principles/ duties, in which case a person's actual duty is "determined by the balance of the respective weights of the competing prima facie duties in the situation"

Autonomy

Core ethical principle that refers to a person's ability to make their own decisions and live their life according to their own values

The Requirments of Autonomus Action

An individual must possess both the internal capacity for self-government (competence) and be free from external constraints

Coercion

The use of force or threats to control a person's actions, and it's generally considered unethical

Paternalism

An ethical principle that justifies making decisions for others, without their consent, in the belief that these decisions are in their best interests

Weak Paternalism

Permits stronger interference with the liberty of others to determine whether they are competent or capable of making a rational choice

Strong Paternalism

A person with decision-making capacity is overridden for their good, often in healthcare contexts.

Preemptive Paternalism

For the good of their future autonomy, the substrate of strong paternalism

Proposed Standards of Informed Consent

- Full Disclosure Standard

- Community Practice Standard

- Reasonable Patient Standard

- Subjective Standard

- Conversation Standard

- Transparency Standard

Full Disclosure Standard

Mandates that healthcare providers must fully and honestly disclose all relevant information to patients about their diagnosis, proposed interventions, risks, benefits, and alternatives, ensuring patients can make informed decisions

Cons with Full Disclosure Standard

Not Realistic

Community Practice Standard (Reasonable Practitioner Standard)

Patient must be provided whatever information a reasonable practitioner would provide in the circumstances

Cons with Community Practice Standard

The basis of informed consent should be patients' informational needs, not what other health care practitioners do

Reasonable Patient Standard

Patient must be provided whatever information an average, reasonable patient would regard as significant in the circumstances

Pros with Reasonable Patient Standard

- Motivated by concern for patient autonomy

- Based upon patients' informational needs

Cons with Reasonable Patient Standard

- Does not take into account what to do if the patient is not reasonable/ average

- Sends health care practitioners the message that informed consent is a legalistic hurdle

- HCPs cover themselves legally by erring on the side of providing more information about the risks rather than less (can lead to information overload)

Subjective Standard

Patient must be provided with whatever information the health care practitioner has reason to belive that patient would regard as significant in the circumstances

Cons with Subjective Standard

- Difficult to practice because health care practitioners often don't know the patient well enough (in this case the reasonable patient standard can be used)

- Does not take into account if the patient's unique informational needs are immoral and /or irrational

Conversation Standard

Health care practitioners must complete a conversation with the patient that is "designed to encourage patient participation in all medical decisions to the extent that the patient wishes to be included" (Brody, 129)

Pros with Conversation Standard

- Encourages health care practitioners to view informed consent as a matter of mutual communication rather than the formal one-way disclosure of information

Cons with Conversation Standard

- Difficult to legally enforce

Transparency Standard (traditional practice with HCPs today)

Patient must be informed of the basis on which the health care practitioner proposes a treatment or set of possible treatments, including any risk or alternatives that factored into the health care practitioner's thinking, and then allowed to ask questions

Pros with Transparency Standard

- Makes clear to health care practitioners what is required of them

- Gives patients the information they actually want

- Encourages patient participation

- Can be legally enfored

Cons with Transparency Standard

- If legal;y enacted and enforced, many informed concent cases would reduce to negligence and thus the community practice standard

- basis of informed concent should be patients' informational needs, not what HCPs think

AI as a Field

"the science and engineering of making intelligent machines" (McCarthy)

AI as an Entity

"any kind of artificial computational system that shows intelligent behavior, or complex behavior that is conductive to reaching goals" (Muller)

Artificial Narrow Intelligence (ANI) (Domain-Specific AI, Weak AI)

Shows intelligent behavior with respect to a specific task or domain

Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) (Real AI, Strong AI)

- Would have the versatility of human intelligence

- Would be able to successfully preform any intellectual task that a human can

Sentience

The capacity for phenomenal experience or qualia, such as the capacity to feel pain and suffer

Sapience

A set of capacities associated with higher intelligence, such as self-awareness and being a reason-responsive agent

Principle of Substrate Non-Discrimination

If two beings have the same functionality and the same conscious experience, and differ only in the substrate of their implementation, then they have some moral status

Principle of Substrate Non-Discrimination

If two beings have the same functionality and the same consciousness experience, and differ only in how they came into existance, then they have some moral status

Procedural Fairness

The application of the same impartial decisions rules to all

Substrative Fairness

Fair outcomes

The Four Principles Approach (FPA)

A method of moral reasoning in which one considers how each of the four prima facie moral principles applies to a given case

- If there is no conflict between principles, the right thing to do is to act by them

- If there is conflict between two or more principles, one must determine how much importance or weight each principle carries in that case to determine what is the morally best course of action

Strong Connection to Principle of Respect for Autonomy

- Utilitarialism

- Kantian Dentonology

Weak Connection to Principle of Beneficence

- none

Strong Connection to Principle of Beneficence

- Utilitarialism

Weak Connection to Principle of Nonmaleficene

- Kantian Dentonology

- Care Ethics

Strong Connection to Principle of Justice

- None

Weak Connection to Pinciple of Non-Maleficence

- Care Ethics

Strong Connection to Principle of Justice

- Kantian Dentonology

Weak Connections to Principle of Nonmalefincene

- Utilitarianism

- Virtue Ethics